


And then Nico di Angelo happened...

by sunshine_and_rainbows



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Mortal, Alternate Universe - No Demigods (Percy Jackson), Coming Out, Coming of Age, Eventual Happy Ending, Friendship, Internalized Homophobia, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other canon and non-canon characters, Sexual Identity, a lot of talk about sex - not that much action, at least not explicit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-31
Updated: 2020-06-17
Packaged: 2021-03-01 03:02:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 28
Words: 93,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23408014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunshine_and_rainbows/pseuds/sunshine_and_rainbows
Summary: Will’s life is good as his senior year in Long Island High is about to start. He’s got friends, good grades, a loving mom, and a beautiful girlfriend. He may lack some funds, since his good-for-nothing dad left his mom to provide for them alone, but he’s on the shortlist for a scholarship to college. He's got the perfect girlfriend, really. She wants to wait with sex, but secretly, so does Will. He’s not ready for that yet. He’s got other things on his mind right now anyway. Like soccer and preparing for Med school.So, all is well.Or is it? Enter one Nico di Angelo, new transfer student, and everything Will thought he knew about the world, and himself, changes…---OR: Take Solangelo and some other Riordan-verse characters, mix in bits and pieces of the plots of "Alex Strangelove" and "Love, Simon", some Soccer and a couple of other old high school movies. Add a little anxiety, sexual identity and awakening and complicated family situations. Then let a writer who hasn’t gone to high school and basically knows nothing about it shake it all up in a cocktail mixer and this is what you get.Yeah. Did I say I’m sorry about this…? (not)
Relationships: Minor or Background Relationship(s), Nico di Angelo & Original Male Character(s), Nico di Angelo/Will Solace, Will Solace/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 280
Kudos: 514





	1. Prolouge

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimers: I own nothing, of course. All credit for the wonderful characters goes to Rick Riordan. I also earn nothing and want nothing but to entertain and be entertained. 
> 
> I also know nothing about High School, Long Island or the US in general (that I didn't learn from a movie or a book), so I apologize in advance for any mistakes, language errors or accidental stereotypes. 
> 
> ***
> 
> I wrote this from Will's POV initially, and it was meant to be only from his POV. But then I wrote some Nico-chapters just to explore what he wants and thinks, and, as usual, I love Nico and I couldn't help myself. So I wrote some more. And now, it ended up with alternating POV:s, but Will's chapters being longer since he is the main character after all. If you want more suspense, you could read just the Will-chapters. They are also more teen-rated. The Nico ones can't be read on their own, because they lack parts of the plot. 
> 
> Even though it's mainly a Will story, we'll be starting at Nico's place. You could think of it as a prologue. The story is mostly finished with about 70k words, so don't worry about being left hanging. It's going to be kind of slow-burn on the Solangelo though, but we'll get there in the end. I will post as I edit, (which may take some time since English isn't my primary language). But I aim at a minimum of one chapter per week, some weeks there may be two or three depending on how much time I have.
> 
> Enough talking, here we go!

..ooOoo..

It’s dark in the bedroom when Nico wakes up. Too dark and way too fucking hot. He sighs and closes his eyes, wanting to drift back into the pleasant dream he was just having. Or was it a dream? Lips are nibbling on his left earlobe, and there’s a distinct feeling of something hard pressing against his back.

“Fuck…” he croaks sleepily.

“I was hoping so…” a voice whispers in his ear and the lips kiss a wet trail from below his ear and down his neck. 

Nico fights against sleep, confusion and arousal to get a grip on the situation. “Shit, we fell asleep Ty. What time is it?” 

“Half past twelve...” Tyler replies and gets back to sucking on that sensitive spot in the crook of Nico’s neck, while gently rubbing his erection against the cleft of his lover’s ass.

Although his cock twitches with interest, a small voice at the back of Nico’s mind tells him this isn’t a good idea. He just has to remember why. “My dad will be home by now, you’ve got to leave before he catches us,” he says. But no, that isn’t the problem.

“I think that ship has sailed actually.” Tyler says. “I woke up when he slammed his bedroom door shut, he must have seen my car outside.” 

“Shit…” 

“So we can just make the most of it…” Tyler purrs and reaches around to stroke Nico’s semi to a full erection. 

Nico lets slip a small moan and pushes into the sweet pressure of Tyler’s fist. His sleepy brain catches up with reality though. “Tyler, we just broke up. I don’t know if we should…” he protests. He blinks the sleepiness out of his eyes and tries to focus on the dimly lit, half-empty room. The floor is littered with moving boxes and random items he hasn’t decided whether to bring to his new home or not yet. He closes his eyes again, shutting out the mess, and the reality, again.

Tyler nuzzles into his neck. “I know. And the break-up sex was amazing. I’m definitely up for round two…”

“I’m pretty sure break-up sex is supposed to be a one-time thing?” Nico says, but it comes out sounding more like a question.

“Sure, if it’s a real we’re-not-in-love-anymore breakup. The rules are different for a you’re-moving-across-the-country-breakup” Tyler argues. “Besides, I like to think about it as more of an extended break until senior year is over since neither of us wants to go all year without sex…” 

Uneasiness bubbles up from Nico’s gut, leaving a sour taste of guilt at the back of his throat. Perhaps he has been too much of a coward by playing the long-distance-card? They obviously aren’t on the same wavelength here. To Nico, an excuse to break up with Tyler is perhaps the one good thing coming out of this whole moving to New York affair. He isn’t sure why he’s even looking for a reason. Tyler is the perfect boyfriend in so many ways. He’s a good friend, he’s hot (and he knows it), always up for sex, he’s funny to hang out with and he adores Nico. His only objective fault is that he can be a bit of a spoiled brat sometimes. But the thing is that Nico thinks he _should_ want to be with Tyler more than he actually _does_ want to be with him, and the whole thing is starting to suffocate him. 

Like right now. 

“Come on Nico. Don’t fall asleep again… you’re going tomorrow and we won’t see each other until Christmas break” Tyler whines in his ear. 

Nico mumbles another half hearted protest, but gives in anyway. He turns around and kisses Tyler sloppily, while giving his ass a playful squeeze. His dick is interested enough and he doesn’t want to fight with Tyler right before leaving. And hey - he’s a seventeen year old boy and sex is offered. Who knows when the next opportunity will present itself?

When Tyler has snuck out, Nico lies awake for a long time, staring at the ceiling. He is trying to figure out why his heart feels almost as empty and messy as his room right now. He’s sure it wasn’t a mistake to break up with Tyler, so that can’t be it. It’s probably lingering guilt. He took the easy way out and blamed the distance instead of just telling Tyler he has fallen out of love with him. Coward. But he tells himself that the problem will be solved by Christmas. Ty will have met someone else by then, which means they can still be friends. After all, that’s how they started and Nico wants to keep it that way.

..ooOoo..

Nico braces himself for the charade he knows is coming when he gets down to breakfast the next morning. Hades and Persephone are already seated at the table, just like any other day. None of them offers him as much as a _Good Morning_ when he enters the private dining room next to the kitchen. He’s surprised to find the room as well furnished and immaculately cleaned and decorated as usual. It’s hard to imagine they will be moving out this very afternoon. But then again, Persephone has insisted on them keeping the house in LA and buying mostly new furniture for their Long Island property. Something about wanting a different style in New York. 

Nico slides into his usual seat at the large mahogany table and accepts the coffee Rosa brings him with a grateful smile. He smears too much marmalade on a piece of toast and silently challenges his father to say something with a glare. He doesn’t, at first. He just keeps reading the paper, while he puts his coffee mug down with a definite _clank_ and takes a bite of toast, munching slowly on it with a loud crunching sound. 

When the silent treatment has gone on for a good five minutes, Nico gives up and sighs. “Just say it dad…” 

“Nico…” his father says. “You know the rules.” 

His dad doesn’t give two fucks about what Nico does in the sack, or with whom. As long as he doesn’t cause any major scandals. But Hades has got this idea that parenting teenagers means saying and doing certain things. He’s supposed to make stupid rules and Nico is supposed to follow them. Nico won’t say he’s sorry this time though, because he isn’t.

“Yeah, but it was my last night here before having to leave Tyler behind and move halfway across the world…” he says instead, playing to his father’s sense of guilt. 

Hades puts on what Nico supposes is meant to be a stern face. “Yes, alright son, but it will be the last time you sneak a boy into your room like that.” 

This outrageous stupidity makes Nico lose his patience with the whole charade and he rolls his eyes at his dad‘s pitiful attempts to play responsible adult. “Ok. We’ll just fuck in his car next time. Perhaps in the parking lot outside of school, just waiting to be caught...” 

“Nico… language!” Hades scolds, but Nico is pretty sure he can see the corners of his mouth twitch.

He hears his dad mumble as he gets up to walk into the kitchen and pick up another coffee.

“That boy… I swear to God…” 

“So, he likes to sleep around, I wonder where he got that..?” Persephone comments dryly. 

Yeah, his family is not dysfunctional. 

Just as Nico opens his mouth to object to that accusation by pointing out that dating the same guy for almost a year hardly qualifies as _sleeping around_ , Hazel comes bouncing down the stairs.

Nico responds to her cheerful “ _Good morning”_ with a tired glare. It should be illegal to be so full of energy this early in the day.

“Oh, come on! We are leaving today! Aren’t you all excited?!” she asks, the wide grin on her face matching the way her brown eyes are sparkling.

“Very,” Persephone replies in a bored tone, without even looking up from her breakfast. 

“You are going to love the house, and New York, I promise…” Hades assures the general assembly around the breakfast table and Nico knows he’s worried about yet another argument breaking out. 

Hazel is the only one who has been genuinely positive about moving almost from the beginning. It was the fact that they managed to persuade their dad that they can attend a normal, communal, middle class high school that did it for her. She has Hades’ and Nico’s united love of soccer to thank for it, really. And the lucky circumstance that the prep school in the small, but stinking rich, community of Olympus Cove where they are moving doesn’t have a soccer team. 

Hazel has had a hard time making friends among the spoiled brats at their current school. She has been raised like a normal person. At least until her mom died and she came to live with them three years ago. Sometimes it amazes Nico how resilient his younger half sister is, but she has somehow managed to carve out a space for herself in their odd family. And even more impressive - she has kept her good humor and gentle personality even though she lost everything and was uprooted in her early teens. 

Nico was too young when he came to live with his dad, and if it hadn’t been for his older sister, Bianca, he would probably have been a spoiled brat himself. She has kept him grounded, remembering more of their mother’s values during their upbringing. And now that she’s left home, he has Hazel for that. Nico gets along alright with his peers, but sometimes he longs for a normal life as well. Perhaps he will someday find a boyfriend who doesn’t think all conflicts are best solved with expensive gifts? And who isn’t so fixated with himself and his own appearance that he sometimes forgets other people exist? (Like how Ty doesn’t remember the name of his dad’s new chauffeur after three months while Nico considers their driver-slash-butler, Jules Albert, a member of the family, practically…) 

Seeing his dad’s strained face, Nico realizes he hasn’t really told him that he has come to terms with the idea of moving. 

“I’m sure it will be fine…” he says. He remembers the pictures of their new home. “I liked the winter garden and the pool house with the large glass windows; that seemed cool.” It’s not a ringing endorsement, exactly, but his dad beams at him. 

“You can talk to Tyler all the time on the computer, right? And you could alway fly down to visit over Thanksgiving,” Hades says. Funny how he went from scolding Nico about the sleepover to reassuring him about his relationship in less than two minutes.

“Or he could come to New York?” Hazel suggests. “Frank is going to visit…”

Nico chews on the inside of his cheek, looking down at his plate. He has wanted to be able to use the moving-away-from-my-boyfriend-card as leverage if possible, but it suddenly seems a bit dishonest now that everyone evidently cares so much. 

“We decided to break up, actually,” he confesses. 

Hazel looks at him with pity in her eyes. “Oh, Nico…”

“It’s ok, really,” Nico says and shrugs. “It wasn’t just because of the move, we’ve been a bit in a rut lately.”

“I’m sure there are plenty of nice young men in New York as well,” Persephone says.

Nico chokes on his espresso. Persephone taking an interest in his love life? That’s a first. “I’m sure there is,” he agrees.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I made up a character for Nico's ex boyfriend, mainly because none of the existing characters fitted the way I wanted him. But he's a minor character in this series so it doesn't matter all that much I guess. 
> 
> The Riordan-characters may be a bit OC as well, since it's a mortal AU and they haven't gone through everything they did in the series, I figured they turn out a bit differently as well. I still tried to keep their main personality treats though.


	2. Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this was quick, right? I don't know if I'll be able to keep up the one-post-a-day thing for long, but right now I'm isolated at home and kind of bored, so... Hope you all are healthy out there!

The lush dark greens and dry siennas of the late summer landscape rush past the windscreen, turning the scenery outside into a brownish blur. Small drops of sweat trickle down Will’s neck. It must be a hundred degrees in the car even though the air conditioner is putting up a good fight against the oppressive heat outside. Its piercing buzz almost drowns out the repetitive beat of the top 40-list playing in the background. Will is ashamed to realize he’s been more focused on the noise than on whatever Katie is telling him. Not a good-boyfriend moment.

“Hello! Are you even listening to me?” she says and elbows him playfully in the arm.

“Huh?” Will yanks himself back to reality. He makes an effort to put on the expression of a person who’s giving his answer some thought, rather than one who is rewinding the last couple of minutes in his head, trying to remember what was just said.

Was it something about the homecoming dance, perhaps? It’s as good a guess as any, considering it’s all Katie has been talking about lately. Before he can answer, she decides to fill him in.

“I was talking about how this is our last year in high school, and we should really make it memorable… We’re seniors now, you know,” she says, the kind of smile that is almost impossible not to reciprocate splitting her face. 

Will sits up a bit straighter in his seat, smiling back at Katie. For the first time in days, he finds himself looking forward to his final year at Long Island High.

“Yeah… you’re probably right. It’s just a lot of pressure,” he says, his smile turning a bit more strained.

Katie lets one hand fall from the wheel and places it on Will’s thigh. “Stop fretting about the scholarship babe, I’ve told you a million times - it’s a sure thing! You’re team captain now, and I’ve never seen you in such great shape before.” She wiggles her eyebrows suggestively, and he chuckles. 

“I’ve got to get the grades I need too, if I want to get into Med School…” he points out, needlessly. It’s not exactly the first time they are having this conversation. 

Katie rolls her eyes and starts talking about other things she finds important. Like the plans for homecoming, what new gossip she has picked up over the last couple of days, and which table they should sit at this year in the lunchroom. Will tries hard to be a good boyfriend and listen attentively, but he keeps zoning out. 

The thing with Katie is this: she doesn’t have any real problems. She’s got both the grades and the money to get into almost any college of her choice, she’s got a tight group of good friends and supportive parents. Unlike Will, who has way too much to worry about, she can afford to waste her brain power on meaningless things like where to sit at lunch.

“...and I guess we’ll need to have a table large enough for his girlfriend too, right? It’s too much to hope that they would have broken up over summer?” she continues with a little sigh, a small frown forming between her perfectly shaped eyebrows. For the first time since she picked Will up this morning, the cheerfulness is gone from her voice.

Will doesn’t even have to guess what she is talking about this time. He mentally retracts his last thought. Katie _does_ have one problem - a purple haired, far too liberal and outspoken problem that goes by the name of Lou Ellen Blackstone. Although Will isn’t sure it qualifies as a real problem. Personally, he really likes Lou Ellen, but he tries not to talk too much about that when Katie is listening. Their diverging sentiments about Lou has been the only real source of conflict in the eight months that they have been going out so far. It’s not as if Katie expects Will to openly shun Lou. She’s dating his best friend after all. But Katie wishes Will would be more _supportive_ of the way she _feels_ , even if he doesn’t share her opinion on Cecil’s girlfriend. He knows this, because Katie has told him. Repeatedly.

“Can’t you try to make a bit more of an effort getting to know her this year?” Will asks. He doesn’t know why he bothers, but he just can’t help himself. He wants them to get along so badly. “It would be so great if the four of us could hang out and, you know…” he starts. 

He doesn’t finish the sentence, because Katie’s good natured smile instantly vanishes and he can see the rant coming from miles away. A flash of irritation flickers in her blue eyes. “Well, you should have told Cecil to stay with Lacy if you wanted us to double date…” she snaps, lips pursed. 

“Let’s just not fight about this right now, ok?” Will says with a resigned sigh.

If he had the balls he would probably tell her that she can’t expect Cecil to go out with someone he isn’t in love with just because it was convenient for their friend group. Personally, he thinks Lou Ellen is a far more interesting person than Lacy. And he has never seen Cecil this happy before. He is madly in love with her, like, worthy of a Shakespeare play-in love.

There are probably not enough balls in the world for Will to confess, even to himself, that he sometimes even is a tiny bit jealous of Cecil because he’s found someone who rocks his world like that. Someone who _challenges_ him and calls him out on his bullshit. Lou Ellen always stands up for what she believes in - even when it’s uncomfortable. Will admires her for that. 

He lets out an inaudible sigh as they roll into the parking lot, places a kiss on the corner of Katie’s mouth and thanks her for the ride. He shakes the thoughts of wild passion out of his mind as they walk hand in hand over the grounds, Katie smiling brightly at everyone she knows. They are good together, him and Katie. He enjoys her carefree and easy going personality. She’s also smarter than a lot of people give her credit for, and they fit into each other's lives and friend groups nicely. The kind of relationship Cecil and Lou have may seem like fun from the outside, but Will would bet it can be pretty exhausting too. 

Anyway, there are things more important than teenage romance; Will has to focus on school and soccer this year in order to get where he wants, and he knows Katie will stand by his side and support him. That’s enough for now. The grand feelings will probably develop with time. Will likes to think their relationship is more like a steadily growing meadow of grass than an explosion of exotic flowers, which may be beautiful when it blooms, but is bound to wither and die pretty quickly. 

He kisses Katie goodbye and makes his way to homeroom, excited to meet everyone he hasn’t seen over the summer. As soon as he gets to class however, he’s sent to the principal’s office. He accepts the note with a frown. Can he be in trouble already? He’s never in trouble! For a second, a sinking feeling of fear cements him to the ground. Could something have happened to his mom or one of his friends? 

“Ah, Mr Solace…” the principal, Mr Dee, barks as he enters the office, his big moustache wobbling, and claps Will on the shoulder in an overly friendly way. 

“Sir…” Will replies politely, relief flooding through him at the cheerful expression on the man’s face. “What can I do for you?”

“I would like you to meet Nico di Angelo, our new transfer student. You’ve got homeroom together and I thought you would be just the man to show him around and get him settled.” 

It isn’t until then that Will registers the presence of another person in the small office. A young man with shoulder length black hair, dark eyes and pale olive skin is slumped in the extra chair in the corner, examining his nails absentmindedly. 

He looks up and gives Will a small nod, which makes him freeze for just a second, breath hitching in his throat. He doesn’t know why, but he instantly knows this guy is trouble. And it’s not just the black-on-black outfit and his almost equally black eyes. There’s also something else; something... weird... about him. When he meets Will’s blue gaze time stops for a moment and his whole body is tingling. Will shakes himself free from the strange paralysis and holds out a hand. 

“I’m Will. Ehrm… Solace. Welcome to Long Island High…” he says, and then he realizes he must look particularly stupid, standing there with a hand outstretched like a middle aged car salesman.

After a hundred years or so, the guy slowly gets up and takes Will’s hand. “Thanks,” he says, “I’m Nico di Angelo.” His tone is neutral and guarded, and his face doesn’t reveal that he’s affected at all by Will’s presence. But there’s a flash of _something_ in his eyes. Definitely something...

The moment is interrupted by the principal clapping his hands together and grinning broadly. “Splendid,” he booms. “If you would just be so kind as to show him around before the next period begins?” 

“Sure mr Dee, no problem” Will says, more chipper than is probably necessary, and nods towards the door with a pointed glance at di Angelo.

Will finds himself on the receiving end of a fair share of nods and pointed glances over the next half hour or so. More so than words, anyway. Nico di Angelo doesn’t seem shy, exactly. It’s rather like he doesn’t think there’s a point to their whole conversation. Will has to drag every single word out of him by force as they walk through the echoing corridors. For some reason, that is probably best described as masochism, Nico’s apparent indifference just makes Will more eager to get to know him. 

By the time they reach the lockers Will has managed to find out that Nico di Angelo has moved here from L.A., that his older sister is in the military, that he has a half sister who’s a junior and that he’s half Italian - unwillingness to share information notwithstanding. The last part sparks an interest in Will, and he gives di Angelo a(nother) quick once over. He doesn’t look like your typical jock, and he’s got a smaller frame and is shorter than Will by at least three inches. But he’s slender, well built and it looks like he could pack a fair amount of thigh muscles under those skinny jeans, so perhaps...

Will decides to take a chance. “So, half Italian, huh? Do you by any chance play soccer?” he asks. 

It’s not the right question, though, judging by the look on di Angelo’s face. He gives Will a blank stare, as if he’s considering whether to dignify that with an answer or not. 

“Stereotype much, Solace?” he asks, after a second too long, quirking a cocky eyebrow. 

“Oh... I didn’t mean to assume…” Will blurts, blushing. _Blushing!_ What the actual fuck is wrong with him today? And why does he even care about trying to impress the new guy? He takes in the ripped black denims and worn leather jacket. Unless he actually _does_ play soccer it’s not particularly likely they will be hanging out in the same circles. 

Di Angelo turns to his locker, stuffs his bag and jacket inside and slams the faded blue door shut with a sigh. “Yeah, whatever dude…” 

Will can’t think of a single thing to say, which is almost funny. Almost. Normally, getting himself to shut up is the real challenge. Perhaps it’s because he’s not used to this kind of… hostility? Questioning? Or whatever it is about di Angelo that makes Will feel so insecure. 

He pulls himself together. If he was indeed stereotyping, an excuse is in order. “No, seriously, I’m sorry… I was just wondering ‘cause tryouts will be later this week, and we could always use some new blood on the team…” Will flashes di Angelo his most winning smile and hopes for the best. Whatever that is.

Big, dark brown eyes widen ever so slightly and meet his, holding them for just a second longer than what would normally be considered socially acceptable. Will squirms slightly. _I should really look away,_ he thinks, but it’s instantly clear he’s not going to do so. 

Di Angelo runs his hands through his hair, gathering inky black strands into a messy bun at the back of his head. He is still looking right at Will, eyes boring into his soul without permission. For some inexplicable reason, Will notices that Nico’s t-shirt is riding up a bit, exposing a thin strip of olive skin just above where the waistband of his boxers pokes out from under his skinny jeans. Will honestly fears something has eaten his brain - why isn’t he able to tear his eyes away? 

“Right…” Nico says, lifting an eyebrow as Will finally averts his gaze. He stares intensely at some unidentified spot in the dirty, lime green wall, cheeks burning. 

“So, speaking of stereotypes…” Nico continues, eyeing Will’s Letterman’s jacket; a faint smirk playing at his lips, “Let me guess - team captain? Dating a cheerleader, probably?”

Will’s doesn’t even know why he gets the urge to defend himself. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, right? But the way Nico says it, it’s almost as if Will can hear the implied assessment. _One of those people who peak in high school._

And the truth is, he doesn’t see himself as the traditional stupid jock. In fact, his grades are excellent, all well earned from a combination of hard work and a rather fortunate blessing of above average intelligence. His soccer career is mainly a way for him to secure that scholarship and make his real dream, going to the university and med school, come true. And as for Katie, Will is dating her because he likes her. End of story.

So, why is it that the unspoken judgement feels like it hits a bit too close to home? 

Nico’s raspy voice tears him from his reveries. “Hey, chill Solace, I was just joking…”

“Yeah… sure.” Will swallows and tries to look blazé. “Well, I’ve got to go to History anyway, so… I hope you find your way to class, alright?” He shuffles his feet a bit and turns away, ready to make a hasty retreat. He has to get away from this frustrating person, who evidently can see things Will didn’t even know about himself with his unsettling, soul piercing, dark gaze. 

He’s having some sort of existential crisis right in the middle of the corridor. That can’t be good, right? It’s not even Tuesday yet. 

“So, Solace…” di Angelo calls after him as he stumbles on his feet to get away from the awkwardness. 

Will stops, startled to be addressed, and turns around. “Yeah?”

The corners of di Angelo’s mouth are curling into a small smirk. “You said something about tryouts? When was that again?” 

So Nico di Angelo _does_ play. He was just fucking with Will. _Bastard._ And yet, Will can’t do a thing to stop the smile that spreads over his own face as he walks away.

.oOo.

Lunchtime that day finds Will squeezed in between a frustrated Lou Ellen and an annoyed Katie at a round table pretty much in the middle of the cafeteria. He’s definitely not smiling anymore. This, he decides as the girls keep bickering over his head, is _not_ going to be his regular seat this year. He zoned out after a while, but he thinks they are debating whether the whole homecoming debacle is a fine American tradition that needs to be upheld or an archaic display of elitism. And probably the patriarchy, somehow, if he knows Lou. 

Cecil and Connor are following the debate with amused interest, while Drew and Lacy, who share their table, are glaring at Lou Ellen. Will is torn between not wanting to fight with Katie, and wanting Lou to feel welcome in the group. It was always going to be awkward this year, with Lacy and Cecil splitting and Lou Ellen coming into the picture, but Cecil’s decision to break up with Lacy had nothing to do with her. He supposes it would be a bit much to hope for that Katie and the others would welcome Lacy’s “replacement” with open arms, but he can’t really see why they have to pick fights with her all the time either. 

Will considers trying to intervene, but luckily the argument is interrupted by a small squeak coming from Lacy. “Oh my Goodness, who is _that_?” she exclaims, eyes wide as she nudges Katie with an elbow. 

Drew turns to check out the source of her friend’s interest. “I don’t know, but I call dibs...” she says, making googly eyes at whoever is the source of their attention. 

Will has a hunch, even before Nico di Angelo comes into his view, lunch tray in hand and bag slung lazily over his shoulder. 

“There’s no way he’s a freshman, right?” Lacy asks breathlessly.

“Senior.” Will replies before he can think the better of it. “New transfer student.” 

Katie whips her head around, staring at him in surprise. “Since when are you the first to know things?” 

“Mr Dee asked me to show him around this morning.” Will’s cheeks are starting to heat up again for no particular reason and he wishes desperately he hadn’t spoken. Fortunately, nobody seems to notice his discomfort. 

“Ask him to come over here.” Lacy says urgently. There’s a demanding note in her voice, and the other girls nod in agreement. 

Will catches Cecil's eye, silently begging for support, but no such luck. Cecil just shrugs in a “what can you do” kind of way. 

Damn. Will has a feeling this whole Letterman’s-jackets-cheerleaders-ensemble they’ve got going at the table won’t win him any points with Nico di Angelo. Not that he needs to impress him, obviously. Just; if he’s good enough to be on the team Will has to get along with him. Yeah. That’s probably why he’s a bit nervous as he waves Nico over after another pointed stare from Drew. 

“So, how’s your first day so far?” Will asks. 

Nico stares at him as if he wants to question Will’s sanity with a silent _Really, we’re doing smalltalk now?_

“Not bad…” he replies after a couple of beats instead.

“So, guys. This is Nico di Angelo - he’s new,” Will says and instantly regrets it. _Way to go, stating the obvious…_

Nico gives them a small nod in greeting.“Yeah…” The strained smile on his lips is nowhere close to reaching his eyes though. Like it isn’t even trying. He fidgets with his hands, picking at one of the threads that pokes out of a hole in his ripped jeans. So, perhaps he is a little shy after all? Will doesn’t get this guy.

”So; this is Katie, Lou Ellen, Cecil, Lacy, Drew and Connor,” Will says, pointing around the table at each of his friends in turn. “Cecil and Connor are on the soccer team as well.”

“We’ve got room if you want to join us?” Drew suggests, batting her eyelashes in Nico’s direction, which earns her a glare from Lacy. 

“Oh... sorry, I’m meeting someone.” Nico says flatly. “But thanks.” Before he turns away to leave, he meets Will’s eyes for a fraction of a second before quickly averting his eyes, and the uncomfortable tingling returns to Will’s gut.

When Nico di Angelo has left, Will feels drained. Focusing in class is going to be a challenge for the rest of the day. _Probably for the rest of the year_ , a small voice whispers at the back of his mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that in the books it's Nico who's fighting with internalized homophobia, but I'm thinking he would be a completely different person if he wasn't born in the thirties... And also, I think the "being happy and oblivious, thinking he's in love with his girlfriend-part" is better played by Will. For some reason, Katie seems to be stuck as Will's ex/girlfriend in my head canon, but I haven't named her by last name, so you can all feel free to think of her as Katie Gardner or some completely different OC-Katie if you wish. 
> 
> Another thing I might mention is that they, as you probably realize, will play soccer in this fic, and Will is hoping to get a scholarship to university this way. Now, I know that soccer isn't that big of a sport in the US as in Europe, but I just can't imagine Nico playing American football, ha ha. Also, soccer is the only sport I've ever played myself and that I know anything at all about, so apparently, it's the big thing at Long Island High ;) Just humor me. Apart from that, I'm curious about life in high school, so if I make any other apparent mistakes, feel free to point them out :)


	3. Nico

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another Nico-chapter - a bit on the short side, and mainly consisting of interiority and some back story. But hey, I'm keeping up with the daily posting so far...

Nico groans and throws himself down on his new queen size bed, only to realize it’s full of books and most of the contents of a not yet fully unpacked box of bathroom utensils. Perhaps not the best timing to be dramatic… Who would have known that a hairbrush feels quite a lot like a hedgehog if one happens to land on it? Not that he’s in the habit of sleeping on hedgehogs or anything. He curses and swipes the stuff onto the floor before trying again, but the effect is sort of lost. 

In theory, Nico does realize that there are probably worse problems to have in the world than what ails him at the moment, but then again, nobody can really suffer like a teenager with an unrecruited crush. He obviously hadn’t known what to expect from the first day at his new school in Long Island, but it wasn’t to get his heart ripped out of his chest by a stupid, golden haired, Letterman’s jacket-wearing, straight, A-list dude. Nope. 

And then Will Solace happened.

 _Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck._ He is so screwed. Why is this his life again?

The thing is; Nico doesn’t believe in love at first sight. To be perfectly honest he isn’t sure he believes in love at all. And he usually doesn’t crush on guys he doesn’t know. And especially not on stereotypical jocks with angel curls and sunny smiles. 

But when Will Solace walked into the principal’s office earlier today, Nico’s poor heart almost stopped. He imagines he must have looked like a drooling idiot with heart-shaped eyes, just like in the comics. Before he managed to regain control of his brain, he had time to think that the dude sent to show him around was the most gorgeous human being Nico had ever seen. He was tall, well built, but not too buff, with a perfectly sculpted face and probably the bluest eyes this side of the Atlantic. And don’t even get him started on those adorable little dimples that formed when he smiled and the light spray of freckles on his cheeks. The guy looked like summer incarnate with his straw blond hair, eyes the color of cornflowers and his tanned skin. To make the allegory complete, he also had the most dazzling, bright smile imaginable and his laugh was clear and contagious like a… 

_Nope, Nico di Angelo. Stop it right now,_ he tells himself. _You will not be writing sonnets in the guy’s honor on the very first day of meeting him. Or ever._

Hell, who is he kidding. He will be writing sad song lyrics and pathetic poetry about Will Solace before this semester is over. At the very latest. And he’ll probably spend the rest of his senior year brooding over an obnoxiously straight dude, who is dating a pretty cheerleader and wants nothing to do with a sorry excuse for a human being like Nico. If it was only about Solace being gorgeous, Nico thinks he would be able to spend time with him without losing his sanity. He’s used to hanging around the beautiful people after all. But a guy who looks like a blond Adonis stepping right out of a sixteen century artwork and who still is kind, sweet and funny - and adorably awkward - and who seems completely unaware of his charms? Heart-crushingly irresistible… What the hell were the Makers thinking, creating cynical teenage gay boy-kryptonite like that? Unfair. 

If Nico was smart, he would stay far, far away from Solace. The only problem is that the guy also happens to be captain of the soccer team, and that soccer team is the reason Nico chose to go to this godforsaken school in the first place. That, and to avoid ending up in another class full of trust fund brats and narcissistic celebrity children. He’s had enough of that for a lifetime back in L.A., thank you very much. If he doesn’t get a spot on the team, he could just change schools. And if he does qualify, he’ll have to live with the train wreck that will certainly happen if he stays in the orbit of Sunshine. He loves playing soccer though, and he can’t let himself give it up just because of some petty teenage drama.

At that exact moment, his phone rings. It’s Tyler, and Nico’s stomach sinks. Fuck. He hasn’t thought about him all day. He has only wallowed in self-pity because the guy he’s had a crush on for exactly nine hours doesn’t like him back. Not one single thought about his ex-boyfriend, who is probably calling to ask about Nico’s first day and argue about the advantages of a long-distance relationship. Again.

Fuck, he’s a jerk. A miserable, doomed, sad, jerk. 

He doesn’t pick up the phone. 

.oOo.

When Hazel knocks on the door two hours later, Nico is sitting on his bed, playing the guitar. Not composing a sad love song though. Nope. Never.

She glances around the room and gives him a condescending look that he knows only too well. Her room has been perfectly organized and decorated for weeks, whereas Nico has only managed to unpack half of his stuff at best. The only place, except for his bed, that isn’t a total mess is one corner with a couch in front of a media center and a large puffy armchair, surrounded by guitars and musical notes. Hazel sinks down into the armchair, thankfully without commenting on his mess in so many words. 

“So, what do you think about school so far?” she asks.

Nico shrugs and keeps plucking at the strings. “Fine, I guess. You?”

“I think it’s awesome. I’ve made friends already. Normal friends...” Hazel sighs happily and Nico can’t help smiling in the middle of his misery.

“Speaking of…” he says, “what do you say about not telling people who dad is? Or where we live and stuff?”

Hazel frowns.“Why? Do you think they would disapprove? Or be jealous or something?” 

She has never been prone to flaunting their wealth around, but she’s also never hid the fact that they have money. Usually, she’s the one persuading their father to use his power for good and donate to different charities or helping people out. But there’s no reason for her to bring it up at school, Nico reasons. 

“Not exactly,” Nico says. “But I would like a chance to get to know people first. Like, I don’t want them to hang out with us because of… that.” 

“Oh…” Hazel says, and the look she gives him is full of pity. Pity Nico doesn’t want.

They are both thinking it even if nobody says anything - Liam. The asshat who dated Nico for half a year just to get to his dad, hoping for a record deal for his band. And then the idiot dumped Nico when it didn’t work out the way he had hoped. Considering that wasn’t even Nico’s worst moment when it comes to bad friend- and dating experiences, it was probably a waste of money to pay a therapist a small fortune to figure out why he has trust issues. 

Nico strings the chords together, humming a melody while Hazel listens in silence. There is something else he’s been meaning to ask her, if he could just figure out how to do it without sounding like an idiot. Well, being subtle was never his strong suit. “Hazel…” he says, resting the hand on the side of the guitar. “One more thing. I need you not to tell anyone I’m gay for a while,” he says.

Hazel’s head snaps up. “What? Why Nico…? Are you sure it’s a good idea to crawl back into the closet?” 

“It’s just until I’ve secured my spot on the soccer team and made sure they know exactly how much they need me… And it’s not like you have to lie, I mean, who’s going to ask you about it anyway?”

“Oh, Nico… you can be so oblivious sometimes,” Hazel says with a fond smile.

Nico gives her a confused look. “What?” 

“I’ve only had like half the girls in my class ask me if my hot brother is single so far…” she says, rolling her eyes at his incredulous look. “But don’t worry, I haven’t told anyone anything of importance. I only said you just broke up with someone…”

When Hazel leaves his room, his mouth is still hanging open.


	4. Will

Will is late, which isn’t exactly unusual, but today is an important day, and it would look especially bad for the team captain to show up last to tryouts. 

“Mom, have you seen my soccer uniform?” he shouts from where he’s half standing on his head in the wardrobe, buried under a mountain of junk. He was so sure he had washed and folded it away just this weekend. 

“It’s in the laundry room sweetie, folded and ready on top of the washing machine.” His mother sticks her head into his room, an amused smile on her face. “And I’ve got toast and eggs waiting for you in the kitchen…”

“Thanks mom, you’re the best,” Will says and gives her a kiss on the cheek before he rushes to collect the rest of his things. 

Will loves his mom, even if she can be a bit overbearing sometimes. It has always been the two of them against the world. At least since his good-for-nothing father left them without ever being heard from again and they had to leave Texas in order for her to be able to get a job that pays enough for her to provide for him on her own. All things considered, he can understand if she sometimes tends to mother-hen him. At the moment, he’s really grateful for her taking care of everything anyway. He tends to get a bit distracted when he’s nervous. Which he is, at the moment. A little, anyway.

He’s not worried about the responsibility of being team captain, exactly. But tryouts are always a mess with emotions running wild, shattered dreams and anger from the players who don’t make the cut. Will doesn’t particularly like arguments on the best of days, and he hates the idea of disappointing people. His biggest fear right now is ending up in a situation where he would have to tell Coach Kiron that he doesn’t think Connor or Cecil are good enough to be starting players. And then there’s Nico di Angelo. Will can’t say if he fears or hopes the guy will actually show up for tryouts. There’s just something...

“Will, honey, I think Cecil’s waiting outside,” his mom shouts from where she’s peeking out the living room window, interrupting his thoughts just as Will crams the last piece of toast into his mouth.

He scrambles the last of his things together and throws on his jacket before he dashes down the stairs to meet Cecil, any thoughts about why the dark Italian has such a profound impact on him temporarily forgotten. 

“Hey mate, are you stoked about today?” Cecil asks, a big grin on his face, as Will throws his bag in the backseat and jumps in shotgun. 

“Yeah!” Will tries to sound more excited than nervous. “I hope you’re in top shape, I want you on the team…”

Cecil yawns. “Sure, just a little tired if you know what I mean?” he says with a smug grin.

“Right…”

Will rolls his eyes. Lou Ellen’s parents were out of town yesterday, and Cecil had somehow managed to convince his dad he could stay the night. Will’s mom would never have allowed something like that, for sure. Then again, it hasn’t been an issue for Will. Katie wants to wait, and Will is actually mostly relieved. He doesn’t think he’s ready either, and the whole idea of sex just makes him feel awkward. 

Evidently, Cecil can read his mind. “Sometimes you’re such a prude virgin I think you’re not really a teenage boy at all…” he teases.

“Just because I don’t want to hear you brag about getting laid when I’m not getting any…” Will says. He cringes internally at his poor attempt at sounding like a normal teenage guy. Cecil is his best friend, for fuck’s sake. He hates that he can’t even be himself around him. 

“Whatever you say man,” Cecil says, but thankfully lets the subject go. Instead, they spend the rest of the drive talking about the tryouts and potential new team members, something Will finds much easier to relate to.

.oOo.

They actually make it on time, and Will is the first person on the field, talking to coach Kiron about last season’s games when the prospects make their way out of the locker room.

“Solace!”

Will doesn’t have to turn around to know who’s greeting him from behind. For some reason, those eyes tend to burn holes in the back of his neck and that voice sends shivers down his spine.

“Nico! You made it,” he says, ignoring the way the tips of his ears heat up. 

Nico is standing there in his usual ripped jeans and band t-shirt. “It would appear so...” 

“You can grab a uniform off the pile; you’ve got shoes?” Will asks.

“Yeah, I’ve got my cleats and shin guards in the bag.” Nico looks pointedly at the black duffle bag slung over his shoulder. 

Will introduces Nico to the coach and shows the other boy where he can change and get ready. Conversation flows easier between them when focused around soccer. Even though Will has made a conscious effort to get to know the guy, ignoring the faint sound of warning bells at the back of his mind, they have only spoken a few words here and there over the last couple of days. For some reason, di Angelo seems reluctant to make friends with him and Will really doesn’t understand what his problem is. He’s the new guy, after all, and he wants to be on the team. Getting to know the team ought to be on the top of his to do list. 

Nico is perfectly friendly right now, however, and he's keeping up fine with the initial warm up drills. For a short while, Will is torn between hope and fear that Nico will make the cut, but his feelings are quickly morphing into pure awe as soon as they are divided into two groups and thrown into a play off. He has never seen anything as beautiful as Nico’s wiry, athletic body flitting across the field, the ball seemingly glued to his feet while he skillfully dribbles his way through the defending players. He isn’t the fastest runner, or the most forceful striker Will has seen. But he’s like a wizard when it comes to controlling the ball. He makes the game look like a graceful dance over the grassy field and Will actually manages to miss a ball di Angelo passes at him once, out of pure astonishment, losing their side a goal. Nico leaves their opponents gaping, wondering where the hell the ball went, as he completely destroys the defense, juggling the ball between his feet and knees, behind him and in front of him. In the end, Coach puts him on the bench. Probably so he can get a chance to evaluate the other players against a more fair opposition. 

“So, what do you say Solace? Do you think I will make the cut?” Nico asks with a small twinkle in his eye as they make their way towards the showers. 

Will lets out a small huffy breath. “Look who’s asking the stupid questions now, eh?” 

Nico just shrugs, actually having the nerve to look a tiny bit insecure.

“Come on di Angelo, you know you are good…” Will says, and is just about to start waxing poetics about the man’s way of handling balls when Cecil, luckily, steps in and interrupts by clapping di Angelo’s shoulder. The boy, to Will’s amusement, looks absolutely horrified. 

“Yeah, we usually hug too, when we score…” Will says and flashes Nico a smile, “you’d better get used to it.” 

_What the hell did I just say?_ Will cringes internally at his own inability to be smooth around di Angelo but is once again saved by Cecil.

“Yeah, that was one masterful display of talent, di Angelo” Cecil says, steering the conversation away from Will’s accidental innuendo. 

“Thanks,” Nico says without really meeting their eyes. He’s fidgeting with the strap on his bag, cheeks stained slightly pink. Will can’t help wondering whether it’s the praise or Will’s awkwardness that makes him blush, but it’s quickly forgotten as the rest of the team attacks them and they all start analyzing the tryouts and making guesses about the outcome. 

.oOo.

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Nico makes the cut. He will be starting as attacking midfielder, and coach Kiron almost has stars in his eyes as he keeps comparing their newest find to world class players such as “a young Messi or Ronaldo”. Will suspects he may have cried a little once. Even if Nico has some of the skills of those giants, he certainly doesn’t seem to share their ego though. Mostly, he just looks uncomfortable when the praise rains around him, shrugging and kicking the grass. But the coach is certain they are going to accomplish great things this year, and it makes Will hopeful. Even if Nico attracts a lot of attention from the coach, he’s not really a striker. At least not from a distance. Thus, chances are that he will provide Will with some very nice assists, giving him the opportunity to strike from his own position as center forward. Also, if the team does well overall, chances are also better that they will attract talent scouts who might land Will that scholarship he so desperately needs. Most of the team seems to share Will’s view. But there are a couple of guys who don’t really manage to keep their obvious jealousy contained. Especially among those who are benched for the first games of the season.

One of the benched midfielders, Eric, glares after Nico and sneers as soon as he has left the locker room after practice one day a couple of weeks into the semester. “He thinks he’s so fucking special just because he can dribble…” He slams the door to his locker shut with a bit too much force and makes a face.

Will sighs. “You know, to be fair, I don’t think that’s what it is. Perhaps he’s just shy?”

“Shy? Pfft… try pretentious ass“ Eric sneers. 

Kyle, one of Eric’s friends, nods in agreement. “Yeah, I don’t know what his fucking problem is, but he clearly thinks he’s much better than the rest of us.” 

Will makes a face, thinking that this is a bit unfair. So, maybe Nico sometimes is pretty transparent about the fact that he doesn’t think he has much in common with the rest of the guys, except for the love of soccer, but he is never unfriendly.

“I don’t know mate, I think he’s cool. A bit different, maybe, but…” Will tries again. He doesn’t want to argue with the guys, but he also feels compelled to come to Nico’s defense for some reason. Probably just his usual compulsion to mediate...

Cecil sits down on the bench next to him, starting to remove his cleats and socks. He gives Will a look and shrugs. “He’s alright, I guess. He never did anything to me anyway. And he seems to get along great with Lou…”

“Yeah, proves my point…” Eric snorts.

A flash of anger shows on Cecil’s face as he snaps his head in Eric’s direction. “Hey, dude, what the hell is that supposed to mean?” 

“I’m sorry, but your girlfriend can be a bit full of herself sometimes as well…”

“Yeah, maybe she should date di Angelo instead? Seems the cheerleaders aren’t good enough for him anyway. Perhaps he’s into that alternative punky thing?” Kyle pitches in unhelpfully, a provocative smirk playing at his lips.

“Fuck off, will you please. You don’t know what the hell you’re talking about,” Cecil snarls through gritted teeth, drawing himself up to his full height. 

Kyle smirks and shrugs. “Well, “Lacy and Drew were both drooling over him after practice today and I tried to make conversation with him like a fucking normal person, asking him if he was interested. He just sneered at me and said ‘Cheerleaders weren’t really his type’ like I had suggested something really offensive”.

Will steps between them, trying to shield the direct line of vision between Cecil and Kyle. He can sense a fight coming from miles away. “Well, that doesn’t mean he’s into Lou... Really, guys. Perhaps he’s just got a girlfriend already?” 

“I still don’t know what you see in her anyway. She’s just so weird. I hope for your sake that she’s a real tiger in bed at least…” Kyle says, turning his head around to look past Will, directly at Cecil.

Eric snorts “Come on, you think he would be this cranky if he was getting his dick wet? Piece of friendly advice; you have to stay clear of feminists if you want to get laid, man…”

“Fuck you…” Cecil glares at Eric. “Not that it’s any of your business, but for your information, a lot of feminists are actually sex-positive and see it as empowering as long as it’s consensual.” His angry face turns into a smirk and he lifts his eyebrows. “Lou just likes to be in control. And I’m not complaining about that…”

Will can see what Cecil is doing here, and the other two rise to the bait, making sounds of agreement and asking for details. Hell, he can’t believe how simple minded some of his friends can be. 

“...it’s actually the more traditionally raised girls you should avoid if you want to get laid,” Cecil winks at them and adds “...or what do you say, Will?” 

Will glares at Cecil, his neck heating up from both anger and embarrassment. He may sympathize with Cecil wanting to avoid discussing Lou Ellen further, and he’s actually more than grateful they have managed to both stop arguing and bitching about Nico. But was it really necessary to throw Will under the bus like that? 

To be fair, he still hasn’t exactly talked to Cecil about his issues with Katie. Or well, his issues with sex. He has only confessed, when Cecil downright asked, that they haven’t gone all the way yet, and that Katie wants to wait. He has never told his best friend about how he’s actually relieved, since he doesn’t think he’s ready yet himself. It’s awkward enough when they make out and Katie wants to go further than kissing and Will just gets all nervous and uncomfortable. He has asked himself, more than once, what’s wrong with him. Why isn’t he as eager to have sex as all the other guys his age seem to be? Their constant harping about getting laid sometimes makes Will feel like an outsider, torn between wanting to fit in and join the discussions, and wanting to say he thinks it’s distasteful the way they talk about girls like pieces of meat. He wonders if it’s just him, or if some of the others are secretly as disturbed by it as he is? 

Perhaps he should really talk to Cecil about it? When they are alone, that is. This is certainly not the time or the place. And he’s far too annoyed at him at the moment anyway. 

And this is the point when Will realizes the others are looking at him, eyebrows raised. Oh, they are expecting an answer. Right… 

When none comes, Eric steps in. “Are you telling me you’re dating the hottest girl in school, and she’s not giving you any..? That’s rough, man...” he says, clapping a hand on Will’s shoulder.

“I fail to see how that’s any of your business…” Will answers, clenching his fists, and gives Cecil the evil eye before he swings his bag over his shoulder. “I’m out of here…”

“Come on man, we’re just kidding…” Cecil tries, but Will flips him off and leaves the locker room. He can shower at home. Right now, he’s not in the mood to talk to any of them. 

When he gets home, he’s got two missed calls and a text from Cecil.

<<From:Cecil>> Sorry man, I wasn’t thinking. I just wanted them to get off my back about Lou, ok?

Will sighs and stares at his ceiling for a while before answering. He can’t stay mad at Cecil; especially since he doesn’t even know the real reason Will hates to talk about sex. He types an answer.

<<To:Cecil>> It’s ok, I just don’t like them talking about Katie like that…

He knows it’s a bit petty of him, insinuating that Cecil was out of line discussing his sex life with the guys just because he’s ashamed about his lack of one. But Will knows Lou, and she would definitely be mad at Cecil if she had heard the way he was bragging and playing macho. And Will secretly agrees.


	5. Nico

“Aaaarrrrgggghhhh, I hate my life…” Nico screams and slams his duffle bag in the back seat before flopping down on the seat next to Hazel. 

Hazel raises her eyebrows. “Dramatic much?” 

“Shut it…” 

Hazel looks in the rear view mirror, blinks and turns out onto the street. “So, are you going to tell me what happened?” 

Nico groans. He has no idea where to start. Like, does he start with his gigantic, horribly embarrassing crush on his soccer captain and how he has kept his distance in some feeble attempt to stop himself from falling even deeper? Or should he lead with his complete failure to play cool, act like a fucking normal kid and just bond with his team mates? He’s not in the mood to talk about either with his sister at the moment. 

He could do a better job of bonding with some of his other team mates though, but he struggles to fit in. In one way, the topics of discussion are much the same as at their last school - primarily getting laid and showing off stuff. Only, his old friends were bragging about expensive cars and clothes and perhaps if someone had gotten a small acting role on some crap TV-series. His new friends struggle with part time jobs, saving for college and they brag about who’s got the latest phone. It’s just what he wanted, right? A normal life. But now he doesn’t know how to relate… Hiding his sexuality doesn’t help him either, and now it has obviously resulted in his team mates thinking he’s stuck up or something. 

He overheard them talking about him today. He had gone back in for his jacket when that asshat Eric started complaining about him and he couldn’t help listening in. So sue him, it’s hard to walk out of a room where people are discussing you, ok? And the worst part was perhaps that Solace had to defend him. Fuck, why can’t that gorgeous idiot just really be an idiot? It would be much easier not to fall in love with him if he wasn’t also so fucking nice - and so adorably modest, almost even a bit lost sometimes. It’s refreshing after hanging around with Tyler and his other friends in L.A. who were all right up there competing with Narcissus himself for the title of most self-absorbed person of the year. Nico can see that now, having spent some time around his new classmates. 

“Nico… hello?” Hazel interrupts his thoughts.

He measures her look and decides on part of the truth. “I just… I have a hard time bonding with my teammates, that’s all. Like, today I was practically attacked by that cheerleader, Drew, and her entourage, and when I didn’t immediately want to jump their bones, evidently I’m a snob who thinks I’m above them or something.”

Hazel snorts. “The funny thing is that they don’t even know how right they are…” She gives Nico a fond smile when she sees his outrage. “Ok, so maybe you don’t think yourself above them exactly, but you can be a bit of a snob sometimes…”

“Excuse me, that is so not true…” Nico protests, pointing at his outfit with plain black denims, a Ramones t-shirt and his worn aviator jacket.

“Sure Nico. Dad has your coffee especially imported because you can’t drink normal supermarket stuff, you just bought another ridiculously expensive guitar and the boxer briefs you wear cost like 50 dollars because the cheaper brands itch…?”

“They do itch, though…” Nico grumbles. Ok, he likes quality, and they can afford it. So, he doesn’t want to walk around scratching his groin all day out of principle? And? Does that make him a snob? He never shows off his money, nor does he buy unnecessary stuff. Most of the time. Guitars are necessary, really. Hazel is just wrong...

Hazel smirks in a way he’s sure she picked up from him. She sure as hell never did that three years ago. “You know Nico, if you don’t want to sound dismissive when they ask you about your opinion on girls, perhaps you should tell them that you’re gay. Just a thought…” 

Nico heaves a resigned sigh. “I know…and I will. I just… well… perhaps the showers aren't the best place to do that.”

He knows he has to come out sooner rather than later, now that he has a spot on the team. It will just be worse if he waits. He has been avoiding to shower with the others so far, since he’s afraid they will accuse him of staring, or worse, later on when they find out. He wouldn’t admit it under torture, but there’s also the small problem of his team captain. His incredibly hot team captain. Nico is actually not entirely sure he could handle a naked Will Solace. He’s seen enough of shirtless Will to know he has a body to die for, and just imagining those tanned, freckled shoulders dripping wet with water gives his cock all kinds of stupid ideas. He’s also terrified that someone will notice the way he looks at the other boy, and puts two and two together once he comes out.

Fuck, when did his life turn into such a mess?

.oOo.

When they get home, Nico’s thoughts about his mortifying crush are quickly pushed to the side by the sight of their father waiting for them on the veranda in front of the house. He’s out of his business suit, looking both relaxed and excited in his best Milan jersey, the one Maldini wore in one of his last games playing for the club and that Hades somehow acquired as part of a business deal years ago. Trust Nico’s father to deal with soccer trophies as seriously as with money.

“Ah, there you are… I was starting to worry. We have decided to watch in the pool house, Rosa made tapas,” he says when Nico and Hazel come within hearing distance and glances at his watch. “We start in half an hour - and be careful what you throw into the betting pool, I’ve got a good feeling about _Il Diavlo_ this year...” 

“I’ve got homework…” Hazel protests.

“Homework,” Hades gasps, making a horrified face. “The new season starts this weekend and we are scheduled for nostalgia night tonight. It is NOT optional.” 

Nico snorts and Hazel sighs in resignation. 

“ _Di immortales,_ who raised that child…?” they hear him mutter as he stands up and enters the house, disappearing down the corridor on the right, probably to check that everything is in order for tonight. They exchange an amused glance. Their father must be the only parent on earth who thinks soccer is more important than homework. Although, perhaps it’s about them bonding as a family more than it’s about soccer.

It’s a tradition for them to gather all inhabitants of the household, both family and staff, before the start of each year’s UEFA Champions League and watch the highlights from the last season and place bets on the one to come. Poor Hazel is the only one who hasn’t grown up with soccer, and who also has no European roots at all to fall back on when choosing a team or betting on which player to score the most goals or something else. Hades has done his best to make her feel included, though. Nico has to give him that. With Nico being half-Italian, Persephone Greek, Hades half Greek, half Italian, their housekeeper-slash-chef Rosa being originally from Spain and their butler-slash-chauffeur Jules-Albert from France, it leaves Hazel to pick one of the English or German teams to root for. Or, which she prefers, an unlikely to win underdog team if there is one. They all try to advise her as best they can, providing her with way more information than a normal, sane person would ever want to know about the teams, players, coaches and game strategies.

Nico gives his sister an encouraging pat on the back, promising her that there will be time to study afterwards. There probably will, unless Hades and Jules-Albert start arguing about which is the most beautiful goal of all times again. If so, they will have to sit through another two hour YouTube marathon. But on the other hand, by then they will hardly notice who is there and who isn’t. 

Hazel leaves for her room, muttering to herself about sports fanatics. Nico digs out his trusty old black and white Juventus jersey from his closet, and a scarf as well for good measure, before heading downstairs and facing the humiliation. Last season, Real Madrid beat Juventus 4-1 in the finals, meaning not only that Rosa gets to pick decorations and food for all of this year’s sittings. Nico also will have to spend the whole evening watching the highlights of that disastrous game. On the other hand, Milan didn’t even qualify last year, so at least his dad can’t be too smug. 

When he gets down, the arguments are already in full bloom. Apparently, both Hades and Jules-Albert want to bet on Messi for most goals and Persephone wants to lay her wager on Gerard Piqué because she thinks he’s hot.

“Goodness woman, he is a _defense_ player. He won’t score a single goal…” Hades complains.

Persephone, leaning back in one of the recliners, still in swimsuit and a very un-sporty flower patterned kimono, crosses her legs and lifts an eyebrow. “He would score with me…”

“Gross… he’s like what, thirty?” Nico groans and thanks the stars he isn’t related to that woman by blood, at least. 

Hades gives his wife a defiant glare and crosses his arms. “You know, if I made a remark like that you would have me sleep in the garden shed for the rest of the year…” 

“For your information, we don’t have a garden shed on this property, as far as I know… I have to keep all the garden tools in the basement,” she replies haughtily.

“I’m sure you would have one built especially.” Hades mutters. “Or let me sleep in the basement…” 

“Alright, if you are all finished, perhaps we should get the party started so I can go back to my biology assignment sometime before midnight?” Hazel interrupts and helps herself to a selection of cheese, olives, aioli, bread and some sort of pickled mushrooms. Nico smiles knowingly - the food is the only reason she agrees to playing along at all and he can’t blame her. He would probably willingly suffer through an evening of watching knitting tutorials on YouTube if it came with Rosa’s gambas al pil pil and a nice chunk of manchego. 

As they sit there, bickering about what bets to place and which players to gamble on, Nico suddenly realizes he’s missing out on an opportunity to bond with his teammates over something they can actually relate to. He picks up his phone and sends a text to the soccer team group chat, even including a selfie with him in his Juventus jersey. 

<<to: LIH Soccer >> Hey, we are making bets on the upcoming UEFA Champions League season in the family - who do you guys think will score the most goals this year?

His phone dings with a response almost immediately.

<<from: Will Solace>> Isn’t it always Ronaldo? What are the wagers btw? Are you betting money on it?

And if Nico’s heart makes a few extra beats when he sees who has started a conversation with him, he can’t be blamed, right?


	6. Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...and just when I thought I would be able to make the posting everyday work during the quarantine, my headache came back with vengeance. Also, I had some major problems with this chapter and ended up practically re-writing the whole thing while editing, so... I'll get back to why in the end notes to prevent any spoilers.
> 
> As always, enjoy! And I hope you are staying healthy out there, wherever you are!

.oOo.

Will wakes up practically gasping for breath, heart pounding like mad and a throbbing sensation of pleasure like he never thinks he’s felt before coursing through his body. He closes his eyes and chases the edges of the vanishing dream, trying to remember. The pleasant feeling keeps drifting further away though, and the images are getting blurrier by the second. Damn, that was one hell of an erotic dream. It’s really annoying how it felt so _real_ and now he just can’t pin it down. The only thing he knows for sure, he realizes with a sinking feeling, is that it wasn’t Katie, hovering over him and moaning with pleasure. Guilt quickly replaces all lingering sensations of desire and he shakes himself free of the remnants of the dream and rolls out of bed. 

It’s not the first wet dream he’s had, but it’s probably the most intense one. Also, he’s pretty sure it was different in some other way too. Like, for example, usually when he dreams it’s more as if he’s watching from a distance. This time, it was very intimate and very clearly Will himself being involved in the action. And it felt more real too. Even if he can’t remember the face of the girl in the dream, he can still almost feel the wonderful sensation of something warm and wet engulfing his length. Lush, warm lips… Shit...

He jumps into a pair of old sweats and pulls on a t-shirt before grabbing his phone and going out into the kitchen in search of a distraction in the form of breakfast. He’s not sure he wants to remember who he was just dreaming about, since it clearly wasn’t his girlfriend. It would be like peak awkwardness if it turns out to be someone he knows and he blushes when he sees her at school. He’s almost sure dark hair was involved and if he just had an erotic dream about Drew, he might have to bleach his brain. He shudders at the very idea and distracts himself with scrolling through the group chat from last night. 

He had been thrilled when Nico reached out to the rest of the team, asking for advice, and they had spent a large portion of the evening chatting about soccer. That boy can be really funny when he wants to, Will thinks with a smile when he re-reads some of the messages. And his family seems to be complete soccer fanatics, making bets about everything and taking it very seriously, apparently. Will wishes his mom could be a bit more interested. Or that he had siblings or other family members to get together with and watch a game like that.

When he meets Nico in homeroom, he still can’t stop smiling. Shit, he must think Will is an idiot, but he’s just so excited that they are finally becoming something at least close to friends. It’s important for team spirit, after all. 

“So, how did your game night turn out yesterday?” Will asks, flashing Nico what he hopes is a friendly smile. 

Nico gives him a glare like if everything was Will’s fault and scrunches his face up in a pained expression. “You mean the one where I had to endure the humiliation of watching Juventus get their asses handed to them on repeat all night?” 

“Wow, that sounds horrifying. How did you ever manage to endure?”

“With difficulty,” Nico deadpans and Will can’t stop a faint laugh from bubbling up inside him at the sight of the other boy’s look. Nico glares at him in return, but it lacks real heat and Will is almost certain he’s trying hard not to smile.

When they all meet up for lunch that day, Will is sad to find the general topic of conversation change from soccer and back to the frustrating debate about sex that started in the locker room the previous day. He blames it all on Cecil. Apparently, he felt bad after their exchange and confessed to Lou Ellen what he said about her. And now he’s on her shit list. Big time. Will would almost think it was funny if he didn’t desperately want everyone to just stop talking about who’s getting laid and not. 

The only good thing that comes out of the whole mess is that Katie and Lou actually manage to bond over their mutual loathing of male chauvinist pigs. (Although Will thinks this is a bit unfair to accuse Cecil of being one.)

It all starts with Lou being in a sour mood and snapping at Cecil about something so insignificant Will didn’t even catch what it was. Katie picks up on the conflict though, and decides to get involved. “So what’s your problem today? Did Cecil actually dare to disagree with you on something?” she asks Lou Ellen. 

Lou doesn’t bite at the obvious attempt to provoke her. She probably has bigger problems than her petty feud with Katie, Will reasons. “Nah…” she shrugs and nods in Cecil’s direction. “He decided it was a good idea to brag about our sex life to the guys on the team…” she says. “And oh, he also thought it was funny to give Will a hard time about his lack of one.” 

“Could you maybe not….” Will sighs, expecting a full Katie tantrum to blow up in Lou’s face, but to his surprise, Katie decides to side with her on this one. She glares at Cecil, dropping her knife and fork with a loud clang on her tray and crossing her arms over her chest.

“Gods, why do all men have to be such chauvinist pigs? Not cool…” she says, pursing her lips. 

“At least your boyfriend seems to have the good taste of not bragging about his accomplishments and talking about you as if you’re just a good fuck…” Lou Ellen agrees and nods in Will’s direction.

“I didn’t… It wasn’t like that… Gods...” Cecil sighs and throws his arms up in defeat. 

Will feels his cheeks heat up again, and Katie is picking at her food, not meeting his eyes. He really, really wants this conversation to be over. For some reason, he’s suddenly very aware of Nico sitting two seats to his left, obviously hearing everything they are saying even if he tries to look like he’s doing something on his phone rather than listening to their conversation. 

.oOo.

At least Will manages to avoid Katie for the rest of the afternoon. They don’t share any classes after lunch on Thursdays, and she’s got cheerleading practice after school. Will hopes he can catch a ride home with Cecil. He saw Katie’s looks during that awkward discussion at lunch, and he can sense that she wants to Talk About It™. Will doesn’t. At all, actually.

Unfortunately Cecil has made some kind of plans with Connor and his brother. They offer Will to tag along, but he’s not in the mood for their shenanigans today. Last time he followed their lead, they almost ended up arrested. And also, he doesn’t want to Talk About It with Cecil either, to be completely honest. Instead, Lou Ellen offers to drive him home, which gratefully accepts. 

Will is happy for a chance to spend some time with Lou, and it’s not just because she’s Cecil’s girlfriend. Lou was one of the first friends he made when he came to the New York area, but they drifted apart when he had to change schools in middle school. By the time they both ended up at L.I. High, she was almost a stranger. He had started playing soccer more seriously, and she wasn’t exactly the Cheerleading type. When she and Cecil got together at the end of last semester, to everybody’s surprise, Will thought it would be weird. But Lou didn’t seem to blame him for them drifting apart and they quickly became friends again - much to Katie's chagrin. Will likes to think he would still have made friends with her eventually even if she hadn’t started dating Cecil. Probably. 

“I’m sorry about dragging you and Katie into our stupid argument earlier by the way,” Lou says as they take a turn to leave the parking lot in front of the school in Lou’s old, blue Beetle. She gives him an apologetic smile. “I hate when people think they have a right to an opinion on your sex life.”

“Or lack there of…” Will laughs, raising his eyebrows. It’s so easy to talk to Lou, he can even joke about it. 

“Ok, if that’s the truth…” she says, smiling. “It's still your choice and nobody else's, you know? Whatever you both decide.” 

They drive in silence for a couple of blocks, while Will tries to make up his mind. He could just let it go and change the subject… or he could use this opportunity to pick Lou’s brain about it. 

Lou keeps glancing at him as if she can hear his internal debate. “You know, I think it’s really decent of you not to push her if she doesn’t want to do it. I know what Cecil said about Katie, and he was being an idiot. Don’t listen to him…”

“Yeah…” Will croaks, mouth dry. He doesn’t know how to continue, but he realizes he wants to. 

She raises a sceptical eyebrow, her gaze piercing right through his mental shields and into his mind. “But that’s not it exactly, is it?” It’s not really a question, even if she makes it sound like it.

“No. Not entirely…” Will mumbles, almost inaudible.

“You want to talk about it?” Lou asks.

Will shrugs but looks up at her gratefully from under his curls. “Maybe… we could go for a coffee…?” 

They stop at the Waffle House, Lou searching for a table while Will picks up two large coffees and a brownie to share. She takes her coffee black and strong, just like Nico does. Not that Will has been drinking coffee with him, but he couldn’t help listening in on the two of them ranting about how outrageous it is that people are ruining perfectly adequate coffee with milk, the other day. Lou finds a booth in the corner furthest away from the door of the half empty café, assuring them some privacy, which Will is grateful for. He’s not at all comfortable with this and almost regrets starting the conversation before it has even begun.

Lou Ellen, however, doesn’t beat around the bush. “So…” she says expectantly as soon as he sets the mugs down on the table and slides into the seat opposite from her. “You’re the one who wants to wait with sex?”

“I guess we both do…” he replies with a shrug.

“So, what’s the problem?” Lou asks, pushing aside a purple strand of hair that hangs in her face and threatens to end up in her coffee. _What’s the problem?_ Isn’t that just the million dollar question?

Will sighs in resignation and takes a large sip of his latte before answering. “I guess I feel like I _should_ want to… Or at least, that I should know why I don’t. Like Katie - she wants to wait out of principle, I’m not sure what for though. Me, I just… It kind of freaks me out?” 

“Hmm…” Lou hums, nodding her head thoughtfully. “Why though?”

“Why it freaks me out?” Will asks.

“No, I meant; why do you feel like you _should_ want to have sex?” 

“I don’t know… I just… I feel like something is wrong with me, you know? It’s like everybody’s totally obsessed with sex, and I’m just like… not all that interested,” he says.

“Ok, so…can I ask you something?” she asks. Will nods and she continues. “Is it about Katie or more about sex in general do you think?”

“I don’t know. I mean, I trust her and it’s not like there is anyone else I’d rather want to do it with. I don’t know why I feel so nervous when things heat up between us. It just feels… I don’t know. Wrong?”

“But are you attracted to her? I mean, like… do you get like, turned on? When you make out?”

“What!??” he splutters and blushes. “That’s kind of personal… isn’t it?” 

“Dude, I think we crossed that threshold a while back already...” she smirks at him.

“Ok, fair enough… I don’t know. We haven’t done much beyond kissing, really. Are you supposed to get... hard from that?” he asks in all earnesty and Lou stares at him like one does when trying to explain to a four-year-old why things don't fall upwards.

“I don’t know if there’s a rule book, but I can tell you that most eighteen year old boys tend to get improper erections when a cute girl smiles at them… And definitely if they are making out with one.”

“Oh…” Will breaths, a sinking feeling of disappointment creeping up inside of him. It’s not like he didn’t know something was wrong between him and Katie, if he’s completely honest. But he has been trying to tell himself that he’s just not ready yet.

“So, there _is_ something wrong with me?” he mutters.

Lou looks at him with something resembling a mix of pity and frustration in her gaze. “I didn’t say that… I’m just trying to help you understand yourself.”

“Good, because I’m a mystery to me right now...” 

Lou snorts out a little laugh and shakes her head. “So, next question: Do you think you’ll ever want to have sex, or is the idea completely foreign to you?”

“I think I do. I mean, I kind of dream about it sometimes,” he confesses, blushing furiously. He can’t help thinking back to this morning and that amazing feeling he woke up with. He wants that, right? Why wouldn’t he? “It just doesn’t feel right with Katie. Like I’m not ready yet…”

“So, what are your dreams about? I mean, usually…”

He groans and gives her a pleading look, his whole face probably taking on the color of a ripe tomato, but her eyes are determined and demanding. 

“I don’t know Lou,” he starts, thinking hard about how to explain. “I… Like; I watch other people doing stuff in my head, or sometimes there’s a vague feeling of… something pleasant… you know? But they are usually not that detailed, or I can’t remember the details.”

Lou’s lips twitch a little, like she’s trying to hold back a laugh. “When did you become so eloquent, Solace…” she asks.

Will purses his lips and shoots her a tired glare. “You got any actually helpful advice or do you just like gloating at my misery?"

Lou seems to think about it for a while, silently eating her half of the brownie and licking the last pieces of chocolate from her fingers. “Hm… well, I can think of three possible explanations….” 

“Ok?” 

“Well, my first thought was that you’re asexual, but now I’m leaning towards probably not, judging by the dreams and everything.”

Will nods for her to go on. This thought has occurred to him as well, but he, too, has dismissed it. Not that he knows that much about what it means, but he knows he definitely gets turned on, and that he enjoys… well giving himself a hand. And when he does, he does wish for more, in some way. 

“You could be demisexual?” Lou suggests.

“What, isn’t that when people only have sex if they are in love with someone?” Will asks.

“Sort of, but it’s more complex. Usually, it’s more about forming a strong emotional bond and trusting each other. Perhaps you’re just not there yet with Katie? Or she isn’t right for you?”

Will frowns and closes his eyes for a second. What kind of bond does he really have with Katie? He trusts her, but if he really scrutinizes his feelings, sometimes it’s like he thinks of her more like a friend. A pretty friend, sure, but still. If he’s honest, the problem may be that he isn’t attracted to her that way.

“So, you mean I’m just not attracted to Katie?” he asks for confirmation, but his stomach flips uncomfortably. It’s a relief to think there might not be anything wrong with him, but he’s horrified at the thought of what that means to their relationship.The idea of breaking up with Katie scares him. It’s comfortable, being with her. Practical. And Will strongly suspects he would lose her completely if he didn’t want a romantic relationship any more.

He gives Lou a hopeful look. “There was a third option, right?”

She doesn’t answer at first, just fidgets with her mug, and glances around their table like she’s nervous about this part of the conversation.

“Lou?” Will asks again.

“Look, don’t take this the wrong way, but have you ever considered that you might not be straight?” 

“What!? No! Why would you say something like that?” 

Wow, that was like… not the third option he was hoping for.

“It’s not like it’s a bad thing you know… You know I’m pan, right?” she says. 

Will tries to fight back the panic that is spreading through him at Lou’s words. “Ok, but… I mean. That’s different,” he says, although he hears how stupid it sounds as soon as the words have slipped from his mind.

“Why though?” Lou challenges, probably rightfully so. 

“I mean, first of all I would have to be gay then, and not bi or pan, or it wouldn’t explain why I’m not attracted to Katie, right?” 

Lou shrugs and gives him a little affirmative nod. Yeah, so that’s what she was trying to say. 

Will shakes his head dismissively. “I don’t think about guys like that. I shower with the team all the time and I’ve never… you know. Looked. Or gotten... hard or anything.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like you’d get turned on by any random naked girl either, obviously? I shower with the girls in my PE class all the time, and none of them does anything at all for me. Nor would most guys on your soccer team either, probably…” Lou retorts.

“But still. I think I would know if I, you know… swung the other way.” Will protests and laughs, but it comes out in a high pitch tone that sounds nothing like his normal laugh. This is not an idea he particularly feels like examining closer. He’s not ashamed to confess that he sometimes thinks other guys are hot, like actors and stuff. Chris Evans has a nice ass, for example. But it’s just because he’s not blind. And he’s also not that stereotypical homophobic douchebag who won’t own up to it because it would threaten his masculinity... 

“I don’t know Will, some people don’t discover their true sexual identity until much later in life… And as you have no experience in either direction, except for that you’re obviously not attracted to your girlfriend… It’s just a thought. ” Lou says plainly. 

_Just a thought._ As if she had just suggested something completely harmless and Will wasn’t silently panicking at all. He can’t be gay. It’s just not… No. Not happening. He’s the captain of the soccer team with a scholarship being his only chance at affording college. There’s no way he can allow himself to even think that way. If he loses his spot on the team, he’s screwed, and he doesn’t know how some of the guys would react. And even if the team didn’t care; would a gay guy be able to get a sports scholarship for college? He doesn’t know and he doesn’t care to find out. Besides, the whole idea is absurd. Lou is totally out of line! It’s not like he ever had a crush on a guy, so...

Flashbacks from the dream that morning suddenly try to break free from his subconscious and claw their way to the surface, completely uncalled for. He bangs down all unwelcome images of dark messy hair, pouty lush lips and obsidian eyes (that definitely don’t belong to Drew) with a mental sledgehammer. Not. Happening.

He manages to wrap up the conversation with Lou rather quickly after that - telling both her and himself that he thinks he’s probably demisexual and just not ready for sex yet. So all is fine with Katie. He will get there. They just need to get to know each other better, that’s all. No need to panic.

When he gets home, he hides in his room, unable to face his mom. She isn’t bigoted, exactly, but she’s kind of conservative. And if he ever mentions someone behaving out of the ordinary when it comes to relationships and sexuality, she clams up and Will suspects she’s more judgemental than she wants to let on. Will’s grandparents, as far as he knows, were religious and really conservative. He can’t remember them very well, but he knows his mom had a falling out with them when she left the church back home in Texas. After that, they weren’t around much in his life, but Will guesses some of the things they raised her to believe must have stuck. 

It’s in times like these Will wishes he had an older brother, or sister. Or a dad who isn’t a complete idiot. He picks up his phone, almost without thinking about it, and flickers through the contacts. When he comes to Lee, his thumb hovers over the “send message” button, but in the end he chickens out and puts down the phone again. He can’t even remember meeting his older half brother. Trying to start building a relationship with the guy by contacting him to talk about a sexual identity crisis might not be the best way to go about things. Lee has tried to contact Will several times over the years, the last time being only a couple of months ago when he wrote he was going to transfer to Columbia after the summer. But as much as Will wishes he had a sibling, he doesn’t want to get tangled up with his dad’s side of the family. His mom would hate it anyway. 

He falls into bed that night desperately wishing for a dreamless sleep, but the thoughts just keep spinning in his head, keeping him awake for too many hours.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, so the TALK between Lou and Will is a major important moment in this fic, as you might understand. It's the first time Will crawls out of his obliviousness for a moment and takes a peak at the real world, and I just had such problems making the conversation flow the way I wanted. I tried to draw on my own sexual identity crisis, even if my situation was completely different from Will's, but I wish I had has someone like Lou to talk to back then who could just slap me in the face and tell me it's ok not to be like everybody else. Oh, well. I hope it didn't turn out too unnatural... 
> 
> And on a whole other note, I originally included a scene where Nico and Will argue about the soccer teams they are supporting, but then I got second thoughts about which team Will would be rooting for. I'm thinking it would probably be English league, right? But then I couldn't decide, other than that I'm sure I don't want him to support Arsenal or Manchester United... He would look good in blue, so Manchester City or Chelsea? But on the other hand, I always thought the Liverpool supporters were the nicest bunch. But then I thought, well, would they have to talk about that horrible Liverpool/Juventus disaster? That's not the kind of thing to include in a session of light banter.... Well, you see the problems I'm going through here? (I might need to get a life, alright?) If you're at all engaged in the Premiere League, feel free to pitch in ;) (Although, preferably a team that would at least theoretically be able to make it to Champions League, or the fun would be spoiled...)


	7. Nico

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so it's time for another Nico chapter. General warning for major pining and cheesy fluff in this one. Sorry about that...

Nico steps into calculus with a sense of foreboding. Not because he has anything in particular against maths per se, but the teacher, Mr Anderson, is always trying a little bit too hard to be funny, and for some reason, he has taken to using Nico as an example whenever possible. Probably because he replied with some snarky comeback the first time, and now Mr Anderson thinks they are buddies. To make things worse, Drew is in this class, and Nico has managed to end up sitting next to her. Or, if he’s completely honest, he suspects it is her doing. 

He slides into his seat the moment the bell rings, trying to minimize the amount of small talk he has to endure. Or, flirting might be a better word for what Drew is trying to do. Nico sighs as she turns to him with a sickly sweet smile and asks if he's got an extra pencil, batting her long, black eyelashes. Nico sighs. That girl just can’t take a hint.

“Today, we are starting with discrete probability distributions… anyone who can tell me what that is?” Mr Anderson asks.

“Not me…” Drew whispers in Nico’s ear, leaning in a little too close. “I’m neither discreet nor very probable…” A nauseating scent of flowers and vanilla overwhelms him. It's almost worse than Drew's misguided attempt at a pun, and he leans away to escape it, hoping he doesn’t come off as completely rude. Hell, who is he kidding, he doesn't care if he’s rude, as long as he can breathe again.

“Let’s first look at the word ‘discrete’,” mr Anderson says and writes it on the white board, “as in a discrete rather than a continuous variable, which is something completely different from the word “discreet’, which means private, or tactful and has nothing to do with math.”

_ Here he goes _ , Nico thinks as the teacher turns around and points his marker in Nico’s direction.

“Let’s take mr di Angelo’s facial expressions as an example - they are usually not very discreet, since I can see him rolling his eyes all the way from across the room…” 

Nico fights the urge to actually roll his eyes, but naturally he fails and the whole class laughs. He can’t stop his mouth from twitching either, it was almost funny. Not hilarious, but, well, a step up from his usual jokes at least.

“But on the other hand,” mr Anderson continues, encouraged by Nico playing along, “his facial expression is usually very discrete, meaning it can only take on a limited number of very distinct values. Such as a scowl, an eye roll, a glare or, albeit highly improbable, a smile…”

Nico smiles broadly just for good measure.

“Auch, that was a scary one…” Mr Anderson says and pulls some additional snickers from the class. Luckily, he’s done torturing Nico, because he turns to a girl Nico thinks is called Mandy or Minny or something, and who is half asleep in a corner, and continues.

“To understand the difference between continuous and discrete, we can consider Miss Sullivan’s facial expression which can appear in an unlimited number of different variations of tiredness, ranging all the way from completely asleep to almost awake…” 

The class laughs again as Mandy/Mindy jerks her head up, torn from her daydream, a mildly puzzled look on her face. Nico’s former teacher used a deck of cards and a water bottle to explain these concepts when they started to sneak a peek at pre-calculus last year. It might not have been as memorable, but it was easier to follow.

When the lesson ends, Drew stops Nico from leaving with a hand on his arm. She flips her long black hair over her shoulder and bites her lip.

“So, speaking of probability… what’s the chance that you already have a date for the homecoming dance?” she asks.

Nico bites back a groan and tries to put on a neutral face. A discreet one… For second, he is tempted to ask Drew if she knows any single gay or bi guys he could take. That would be a fun way to come out, and it would probably get her off his back,  _ finally _ . But he wants to tell the team first and avoid them hearing rumors that would make them think he’s been deliberately keeping them in the dark. 

“I’m not even sure I’m going yet, so no…” Nico says instead. 

Drew cocks her head to the side and gives him a look that tells him he doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter. She moves her hand seductively up his arm.

“Of course you are going Nico, you’re on the team now,” she purrs, giving his bicep a small squeeze. “Besides, you don’t want to miss the party at Connor’s afterwards. It’s going to be amazing. A lot of dark corners to hide in…” 

“I’ll think about it.” Nico says, desperate to get out of there. “I’ve got to go to my next class now,” he adds and slips out of her grasp, feeling equal parts relieved and ashamed. It’s not the first time Drew has been dropping quite heavy hints that she wants Nico to ask her to the dance. Or, it’s more like she’s been painting the walls with big neon letters. Blinking, screaming neon letters. He’s got to fix this soon, or she’ll be beyond furious when she finds out she’s been throwing herself like an idiot at a gay guy. 

He runs into Cecil’s girlfriend, Lou Ellen, in the hallway. “Be careful with that one Nico…” she says and gives him a smirk. “I know she’s hot as fuck, but she’s got quite a reputation as a heartbreaker…” 

Somehow, Nico doesn’t believe she’s really worried about him being into Drew, but he still gives her a glare. “Don’t worry, she’s not exactly my type…” he mutters.

“Didn’t think so,” she says with a smug grin on her face.

Nico raises his eyebrows and gives her a questioning look. Does she know? And if so, how?

Lou gives him a tired stare. “Please… I’m pan myself and I’m not blind Nico. I can see the way you look at girls flirting with you like they are contagious, and the way your eyes are drawn to the backsides of certain hot...”

“Ok, enough of that…” Nico interrupts her with a worried glance around them. The last thing he needs is for her to blurt out that he has been ogling his captain in front of some of his team mates. 

“You know, the only thing I don’t get is why you aren’t telling her? You don’t seem like the type to hide in the closet…”

“Gods, no… I’m out and proud, normally. It’s just; I want to tell the team first, and I can’t get kicked off, ok? And now, there’s a couple of the guys who don’t exactly like me and I don’t want to give them anymore ammunition before the game next Saturday, you know? After I’ve made sure we crush the opposition, Coach Kiron can’t throw me off…” 

Lou snorts. “Confident, at least…” she says. “Come on, Coach Kiron is a good guy. He wouldn’t kick you off for being queer. Just because Eric - yeah, I know who you’re talking about - is an asshat; it doesn’t mean the rest of them are idiots, ok? Cecil certainly isn’t going to say anything. I mean he’s had to get used to me checking out the same people as him on the beach - If his masculinity can survive that….” 

Nico shrugs. She’s probably right. “I’ll tell them soon. Just let me do it on my own terms, ok?” 

“Good,” Lou flashes him a toothy grin and punches his arm.  “Once you’re out, you can join the GSA and help us raise awareness about gender stereotyping and discrimination against LGBTQ students at school… We’ve got bi-weekly meetings...”   


Nico shudders and scrunches up his face. “Yeah, no thanks…” 

Lou Ellen just gives him a patronizing look. “Of course you will. I have an evil master plan to make sure you do…” 

Nico raises his eyebrows. This can’t be good… “What plan?”

“Well, it wouldn’t be an evil master plan if I told you about it…” she retorts with an eye roll. “Now, let’s go to lunch.”

“You’re weird…” Nico grumbles, shaking his head, but he follows her anyway. And it feels good to have at least one... friend? person? ally? who knows, he can’t deny that. 

.oOo.

When he waits for Hazel to drive him home after school later that day, he runs into Will, who is apparently also waiting for a ride, sitting on a bench outside. Damn, the last person he wants to see right now is his annoyingly handsome team captain. Especially not when he’s trying to motivate himself to come out to his new friends. To be honest, his embarrassing crush on Will is another reason he hasn’t yet, since he’s terrified of being exposed. And he knows what it’s like; if the guys know there’s someone batting for the other team among them, they will scrutinize his every move and look and try to catch him staring at someone. He would have to be so much more careful around Will. The best solution to this problem would be if he could find someone else who he could at least go out with a couple of times, both to draw attention from the way he’s looking at his captain, and for his own sanity. With a bit of luck, he could be distracted himself and forget about Solace? The only problem is that none of the guys that he knows are out at school are even remotely Nico’s type. What the hell that even is. He didn’t think it was blond jocks with bright smiles either, not before he met Will Solace.

“Hey, Nico... “ Solace greets him with a big grin. It’s not his normal, relaxed smile though. If Nico didn’t know better, he would almost think Will was a bit nervous. For a terrifying second, Nico fears he can read minds. Or that he accidentally said something out loud. But he buries that thought quickly - just because Nico’s mind is permanently stuck on Will it doesn’t mean everything in the other boy’s life is about Nico. Perhaps he’s got some other, completely unrelated reason to be a bit off. 

“Hey, what’s up?” he asks, trying to play it cool, and sits down on the bench next to Will, letting his bag fall to the ground with a thud. 

“Nothing much, waiting for Cecil... “ Will shrugs, looking up at Nico from under the light golden curls that fall over his forehead. 

Fuck, that guy is too adorable for his own good… Nico heaves a plagued mental sigh and their eyes meet for a second. It sends a pulse of something through Nico’s body and warmth is pooling in his gut.  _ How is it possible that something like this can be one-sided? _ he wonders. It feels so real, so significant. Inevitable. How can Will not feel the way Nico does every time they are close together? And it’s not just that Nico is a hopeless romantic or that he’s normally sappy like that. He’s definitely had crushes before, but it has never affected him this way before. It’s so fucking unfair!

They talk about soccer for a while - it seems like a safe topic of conversation to analyze their last practice and debate strategies for the upcoming annual game against a rivaling school. 

“There’s no way we’re losing this year, not with you on the team,” Will says and bumps Nico’s shoulder, making his neck heat up. Usually, he’s pretty confident when it comes to soccer and he’s used to the praise. But coming from Will Solace, damn - his walls are crumbling to dust faster than he can say embarrassing infatuation. 

“You’re not so bad yourself,” Nico says, and immediately cringes internally. Perhaps not such a safe topic after all, if he can’t stop himself from flirting with his team captain like a complete moron. He can’t help noticing that Will’s cheeks are dusted with a faint pink color either. 

Will smiles shyly at him “We make a great team, right?” he says with a shrug and Nico just wants to slap the man in the face. If Hazel doesn’t show up soon he’s going to die right here, sitting on a bench outside school. Death by flattery - what a way to go.

“You know,” Will continues, because apparently, the man has no mercy, “...the way you played at our last practice, it was like watching David Silva himself at the height of his career. Man, it’s like magic… I wish you could teach me like a fraction of the feints in your repertoire...”

Nico is completely speechless for at least fifteen seconds. He can’t decide if he’s going to a) hit the dude to make him stop talking, b) melt into a puddle and die or c) offer private tutoring. So instead, he says, “Wait, what? Silva? Don’t tell me you’re a City supporter?”

“Why, what’s wrong with that?”

Nico groans and smacks his forehead, cringe-worthy compliments all but forgotten in the face of this new development. “So, what is it? Don’t tell me it’s because the kits match your eyes?” he asks, smirking. But his treacherous mind doesn’t miss the opportunity to point out that Will probably would look amazing in sky blue. “Or do you just like ‘Blue Moon’?... Please don’t be one of those who became a fan when they started taking home trophies these last years…?”

Will makes a stubborn face, strongly resembling a pout, that makes Nico snicker. “For your information, I’ve been a supporter since pre-school, and it was mostly because there was this bully in my class who supported United.” Will grins and looks a bit flustered. “And perhaps a little because of the song…” he confesses. “But I was six, ok?” 

They banter back and forth about the different teams and leagues. Nico, naturally, points out all the times Juventus has beaten Manchester City in a Champions League game and he almost manages to forget that he is supposed to be flustered and awkward and it feels almost like talking to an old friend. Almost.

“Hey, so, what are you doing after practice next Saturday?” Will suddenly asks, and Nico’s heart makes a double take in his chest before he realizes there’s no way in hell the guy is actually asking him out. He still can’t persuade his mouth to form actual words, so he lifts one shoulder and both eyebrows hoping it will be interpreted as a casual  _ I don’t know. _

“I was hoping I could convince you to help out with the preparations for the dance…” Will says. “Katie is on the planning committee and she’s asked if the team could help out. Most of the guys usually do…”

Nico’s poor heart sinks like a stone. When he realizes it’s about Will’s fucking cheerleader girlfriend, anger wells up inside of him before he can think the better of it. How inconsiderate can the guy be? Asking someone who has a crush on him to help his girlfriend? Then it dawns on Nico that Will probably has no idea how he feels, which is a good thing really. A very good thing. The anger drains from him as quickly as it came, and he is torn between wanting and not wanting to help out. On the one hand, he wants to bond with his team mates, in theory at least. And some perverted, masochistic part of him wants to spend time with Will, although he knows he probably shouldn’t. On the other hand, judging by the amount of times his heart has almost stopped over the last twenty minutes or so alone, a whole day in the company of Will Solace is going to take years off his life.

He gives Will a small smirk, stalling for time, as he answers. “I’m not sure I’m your best pick Solace. I’m not exactly Martha Stewart.”

Will snorts and looks at Nico with mischief in his eyes. “I’m sure we can find some use for you..” 

And with that, Nico dies a little again. He thinks that there’s nothing he wouldn’t do for Will Solace, at least not when he’s smiling like that.

He’s officially doomed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, yesterday's soccer related poll got two votes for Manchester City and one vote for not-Chelsea, so it's decided! The (somewhat cheesy) Silva-reference at the end is naturally dedicated to the no 1 fan of this fic so far, myblueworld :)
> 
> Also, we'll be assuming this fic is set a couple of years back, so we won't have to put Will through the pain of seeing his team suspended... (Also, I don't want to have to put everybody in quarantine for spring break, so it's probably better anyway.)
> 
> I also got some useful spelling advice from another reader, so I'll go back and try to fix my errors... Thanks for that! Some things are just impossible to google.


	8. Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I didn't get around to posting yesterday! I got stuck on Netflix and, well... you know what it's like, right? I was also not happy with parts of this chapter, and it was a bit too long since the first scene was moved here when I edited the last Will-chapter. I shortened it a bit and summarized some of the dialogue, but it's still over 4k words and not perfect, but at least it's done!
> 
> It's going to be intense as well as we are entering the mildly angsty phase of this fic, you know the one that earned it the tag "internalized homophobia"? But don't worry, it doesn't get too bad, I promise. My fictional world is sunshine and rainbows, remember?

About a week and a half before the first big game of the season, Will is all but ready to throw in the towel and give up on his soccer career. No, that’s not true, exactly, but annoyance is creeping through his body as he walks into the showers after practice on Wednesday. Their team has never had better players, objectively speaking, but somehow they can’t seem to get their shit together and focus. Mostly, Will is upset with himself for being one of those most lacking focus. Or, rather, having the wrong focus. To be honest, his eyes are glued to a certain dark, half-Italian player ninety percent of the time, which makes him lose the overview of the game. But he can’t help it. It’s like time freezes when Nico is in possession of the ball. It’s just so beautiful. The game, obviously, not the man. Pfft… 

He blames his own absent-mindedness on Lou Ellen. Ever since The Talk, he’s had stray thoughts surprising him like that, and he’s sure it’s just because she planted that stupid idea in his head. Suddenly he can’t stop thinking about if guys are hot or not and he’s caught himself staring at one particular team mate more than once over the last week. 

The irritation is rolling off Will in waves as he tugs off his sweaty shirt and slams the door to his locker open. He can practically feel Cecil’s curious gaze prickling at the back of his neck. There will be questions later. Will is very seldom in a randomly bad mood, and he doesn’t even know why this lousy practice is getting to him like this. Sure, the guys were goofing around a bit, and Will missed an open goal staring at di Angelo’s ass. Feet, feet!! With the ball in front of them. Obviously. Jeezus. What the hell is wrong with him today? 

He tries to comfort himself with the knowledge that it’s nothing unusual that the last practices before a big game are a bit chaotic - he’s sure they will be able to focus once it’s for real. What he needs right now is a long, hot shower to wash the irritation away. It’s a trick that almost always works for him. Like it’s impossible to be angry when soaked in water. Swimming, showering, singing in the rain… it’s all good. There turns out to be a minor flaw in his plan, however. His heart almost stops at the faint soapy smell of vanilla and pomegranate mixing with the steam pouring out of one of the shower stalls. Nico. Shit. Usually, he’s the first into the showers after practice and already done and out by the time the others enter. It used to annoy Will in the beginning, since it made it so much harder to get to know his new team mate. But after a couple of weeks, Will was secretly relieved, without understanding why. His best explanation is that he doesn’t want the guys to make idiots of themselves in front of Nico, who obviously is a bit less crude than your average teenage boy. Will adores his teammates, he really does. Except when they behave like horny monkeys and can’t stop obsessing about getting laid when Will’s trying to talk game strategy. 

Now, something else has happened though. Something weird and a bit scary. With the knowledge of Nico being so close, (and with Lou’s stupid theories poking at the back of his mind) Will is suddenly very aware of his nakedness. He has showered and changed with the others on the team and with his classmates for years, without ever thinking twice about it. So why is he suddenly feeling so exposed? And then something even worse occurs to him - the idea of seeing Nico naked. Why is his throat all dry and his heart pounding quicker with nervousness? Evidently, just the scent of Nico’s shampoo gives Will goosebumps now and he swallows hard and makes a dash for the toilet, locking the door just in time behind himself. Just in time - because his very treacherous, obviously completely confused dick has chosen this exact moment to start filling out, as unwelcome images of Nico with water running from his long, black hair and dripping down his lithe body flashes through his mind. 

_Shit, shit shit…_ This may just be the most horrifying moment of Will’s entire existence. A small voice at the back of his head that sounds a lot like an inner Lou Ellen tries to get his attention. _Told you so…_ it says with a distinct smugness in its tone.

Afterwards, Will doesn’t even remember how he managed to shower, change and get himself home. He thinks Connor drove him, which is lucky because he couldn’t have faced Katie right now. Or Lou Ellen. Definitely not Lou Ellen. He manages to avoid his mom as well, grabbing a sandwich and a bottle of water from the fridge before locking himself into his room. He throws himself on the bed with a certain amount of drama, but if there was ever a situation that called for a bit of dramatics it would be the very one he just finds himself in. 

He spends most of the evening trying to rationalize his confusing behavior. And, even more outrageous, that of his little friend. He is so not ready to face whatever reason his random body parts have for reacting the way they did today. Not. Ready. He sighs and silently curses the day Nico di fucking Angelo walked into his life. 

.oOo.

“Hello?”

“Huh?” Will almost jumps in the car seat. Shit, he’s zoned out again and Katie obviously just tried to say something. 

She frowns and gives him a concerned look. “Hey, are you ok babe? You’re distracted today, you know? Did something happen?” 

“What? No… nothing. Just didn’t sleep well, that’s all,” Will says. It’s not like he can tell his girlfriend he’s been up most of last night obsessing about his sexuality and the fact that he almost got an erection from being in the same room as a naked dude. 

Katie strokes his thigh, and gives him a comforting smile. “Do you want to stop and pick up a coffee? We’ve got time…” 

“Sure.” 

Katie orders two large pumpkin spice lattes, even though October is still a week away, and a cinnamon-apple cronut for Will. Evidently, she thinks it’s time for comfort food, and she knows him too well. He gives her a fond smile. She’s really the best sometimes.

“Thanks!” 

They half-sit on the hood of her car drinking their coffee and sharing the cronut in silence. When they’re mostly done, Katie steps into the space between Will’s legs and wraps her arms around his neck, pulling him in for a kiss. Will struggles to focus on his amazing girlfriend, pushing all the guilt and other disturbing thoughts to the side. 

He’s evidently not completely successful.

“You seem a bit off today babe…” Katie says. “Are you sure you’re ok?” 

“Yeah. I’m good. It’s all good.” 

She sighs. “Is this about the conversation in the lunchroom the other day?” 

“What conversation?” Will asks, knowing perfectly well what she’s referring to. He’s been avoiding talking about this for days, and he had just started to think he could get away from it. 

Katie takes a deep breath. “Anyway… I’m sorry if the guys are giving you a hard time about… you know. Us...not...doing it? But I just wanted to say that I really adore you for being so patient with me.” 

She pulls him in for another quick kiss, but pulls away just as soon, looking at him expectantly. 

“Yeah… ok. I mean. I don’t mind. Waiting, that is. For you...” Will says. Shit, why must he sound like a complete idiot?

Katie seems content with his rambling though. “Thank you,” she says and gives him a loving smile. 

Will tries to return it, but the smile he manages to conjure for her is a weak version of what he knows she deserves. _Shit, I’m like the worst boyfriend ever to boyfriend._

“You know…“ Katie says tentatively, and there’s something in her voice and the way she bites her lip that makes Will nervous. 

“What?” he asks anyway.

“So, perhaps we don’t have to wait like forever? I mean, we’ll both be eighteen in a few months, and by then we will have been going out for over a year…” 

“Yes?” 

“Yeah, I mean, it’s not like I want to wait for marriage. I just thought, you know… that I wanted to be sure about us.”

“Sure how?” he asks, feeling the dread creeping up his spine.

“Well. Sure… that I love you. That you won’t just have sex with me and then break up with me…” she says, looking at him bashfully. 

_Panic._ The L-word. Where did that come from? They haven’t said that before. Well, technically she didn’t right now either, right? She just said she _wanted_ to be in love before they did it, so it doesn’t count. He doesn’t have to reciprocate. He thinks. 

“Yeah, ok. I want that too,” he replies. “I mean, I want to wait until we’re at least eighteen I guess.” 

Katie deflates a little, and the guilt creeps back into his mind. She probably expected him to say he already loves her. Which he kind of does, he supposes. But not necessarily in a way that makes him want to have sex with her. Yet, anyway. 

“It doesn’t mean we can’t do other stuff, you know?” Katie suddenly says, wrapping herself around Will again, pushing even closer so her breasts press into his chest before she kisses him passionately. She plunges her tongue into his mouth eagerly and he can feel the nipples of her breast hardening through the fabric of her shirt and bra. He thinks he might just about drown in the flowery scent of her perfume. He usually likes that smell, but right now it’s all a bit too much and he’s ashamed to realize he’s almost overcome with the urge to push her away. 

_Shit, what’s wrong with me?_ He thinks. Normally, he likes kissing Katie, hugging her and cuddling with her. It’s warm and comforting. Perhaps it’s the sex talk, or the fact that they are in a parking lot outside the Waffle house on their way to school. Yeah, that’s probably it. He just isn’t too comfortable with this much PDA. 

“Perhaps we should get going before this gets out of hand…?” he suggests, as he’s untangling himself from his girlfriend. 

“You’re probably right,” she says, her voice a bit huskier than usual. Her cheeks are rosy and she’s got a smile full of promises on her lips. 

Will feels too hot and takes off his jacket to drape it across his lap as they sit in the car. He doesn’t even think about how Katie might interpret that until she gives him a mischievous grin and glances at his groin.

She leans in to whisper in his ear, like it would be too embarrassing to say out loud. “You don’t have to be ashamed, you know? I kind of like the idea that you want me…”

Will just sits there, very much _not hard_ under his jacket, and feels like the worst boyfriend in the world. Again. 

.oOo.

That weekend, most of the team is roped into helping out with preparations for the homecoming dance “since they have to be at school for their last training session anyway”. And since Will seems unable to say no to Katie at the moment. He has to endure a fair amount of glee from his team mates for being a complete pushover. 

Will spends the better part of two days panicking about the idea of spending more time with Nico. And especially, Nico and Katie in the same room. Why did he ask him again? He’s afraid odd parts of his body and mind will get ideas. But then, he decides, it might just be good if he gets to know Nico better. Perhaps some of the awkwardness he feels around the guy is due to the fact that he doesn’t know him as well as the others? 

His plan to get to know Nico works fine at first, as they are both put on decoration duty. He already knew Nico is quite funny with a dry, sarcastic kind of humor that Will appreciates. But this is the first time they have fallen into something resembling friendly banter as they are united in their common inability to assemble a single satisfactory streamer or paper flower. There’s a lot of teasing about the shape and state of specific flower wrecks, as well as a small paper-tissue-fight breaking out at one point. Nico is laughing hysterically at the way little colorful balls of paper get stuck in Will’s blond curls, making him look like a first class kindergarten art project come alive. All in all, decoration duty turns out to be a lot more fun than Will had thought, and he’s in a terrific mood when Katie shows up to inspect their progress. 

As it turns out, she’s not as happy with them as they are with themselves. She sighs loudly as she scrutinizes their sad pile of mismatched tissue paper. “God help me, you’re both useless…” 

“I don’t think God can do anything about this. If he had wanted me to have any artistic skills whatsoever he would have delivered by now…” Nico mutters without looking up from the pink and yellow mess in front of him.

Will snorts, earning him a glare from Katie. “Sorry,” he says quickly, “but I’m sure you could find other uses for us? Don’t you have anything that needs lifting or hanging up or something?” He gives her a pleading look and she melts and gives him a fond smile. 

“You’re lucky you’re cute…” she says, smiling, and gives him a chaste kiss. 

Nico’s eyes darken slightly, and the dry humor has turned into something almost bitter as he replies. “Well, since I’m not artistic, good at lifting things or cute, perhaps I may be excused for a bit…” he says. 

Katie doesn’t seem to have noticed the subtle change in his mood, because she tries to stop him from leaving by claiming she can’t let him go or everyone else will bolt as well. 

“Relax, I just need a quick break,” he says. “Perhaps I can call in some reinforcements? Hazel is great at this kind of stuff… I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”

Luckily, Nico is up and out the door before Will can pitch in that he actually thinks Nico _is_ kind of cute. He’s not sure either Nico or Katie would have appreciated that assessment.

Half an hour later, Nico is back with Hazel, who turns out to be a pretty girl with a wild tangle of cinnamon colored curls framing a friendly, heart shaped face. Will has seen him talk to her before, and even sit with her at lunch a couple of times. He briefly wonders why he hasn’t seen her around before, and if she’s Nico’s girlfriend. Will’s stomach flops uncomfortably at the idea, and the smile the girl receives when introduced to him is probably quite strained. Judging by the look on her face, Drew has the same suspicion. Since it’s not a secret that she’s interested in Nico, Will isn’t surprised when she puts on her best sneer and looks down on Hazel, who is probably four inches shorter.

“And who are you, again?” she asks dismissively. 

Nico looks like he wants to punch Drew in the face, but Hazel doesn’t seem intimidated. “I’m Hazel, Nico’s sister” she answers coolly. “I was asked to help since my brother evidently can’t create a paper flower to save his life…” 

Drew’s face shifts from contempt, to confusion and finally settles on a saccharine smile within a split second. “Oh. That’s great! It’s so nice to meet you Hazel. Though I must say you don’t look much alike. That’s what confused me…”

“Same dad, different moms.” Hazel replies, ignoring Drews obvious cock-up. 

Will would have laughed out loud at Drew’s feeble attempt at sucking up to Nico’s sister, if he wasn’t so horrified at his own internal turmoil. For some reason, Hazel-the-sister seems much nicer than Hazel-the-potential-girlfriend. When the hell did he turn into Drew? 

Hazel turns out to be just as sweet as she seemed at first, but there’s definitely some of Nico’s don’t-fuck-with-me-attitude lurking under the surface. She’s the kind of person who is perfectly nice and polite to everyone, and whom you might mistake for a complete pushover, but who will kick you in the balls without a second thought if you deserved it. 

She doesn’t seem to think Drew’s way of sucking up to her in a badly hidden attempt to get closer to Nico justifies ball-kicking though. Even if she clearly sees through Drew, and rolls her eyes behind her back more than once over the course of the afternoon, she’s remarkably patient with her. It isn’t until Nico leaves to go to the bathroom, and Drew uses that opportunity to ask Hazel if he’s single and if he has a date to the dance yet that her patience seems to run out. 

“Look...” she says, putting down the utensils she’s been working with on the tabletop, “I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I don’t think you’re exactly Nico’s type.” 

Drew seems to ponder whether to be rude back or continue her efforts to make friends with Hazel. She settles on the latter. “Well, perhaps I’m not his usual type, but if he’s single, perhaps you could, you know. Give me some pointers? What he likes to talk about and stuff…?” she tries.

“I wouldn’t waste my time if I were you…” Hazel mutters and purses her lips. 

Drew just stares at her, obviously offended, but before she can say anything else, Nico comes back and slides into his seat next to Hazel. 

“Hey, brother dear… Did you know that Drew here has been dying for you to ask her to the dance?” Hazel says, with an air of nonchalance. Nico chokes on his soda and Drew gives Hazel an impressive death stare. The rest of the table struggle in vain to keep their snickering in check. Ok, so it’s not such a nice thing to do, but Drew was kind of asking for it.

Nico shoots his sister a tired glare but doesn’t answer. 

“Well, since she seems to think she’s got a chance, perhaps it’s time for you to come clean with your new friends and put her out of her misery?” Hazel continues innocently, making Nico’s glare match Drew’s evil eye from just before. 

“Why did I call you again?” he sighs, but his glare has transformed into a look of resignation.

“Because you love me, of course… And because you suck at crafts?” she says with a triumphant grin. 

“So?” Drew says irritably. “What’s the deal? You’re not single then?” 

Hazel actually bangs her head against the table at this point.

“Oh, I’m single,” Nico replies dryly. “I sort of had to break up with my boyfriend when we moved across the country, but if I was looking for something new I’m sorry to say that you lack some of the equipment required to keep me satisfied… Nothing personal.” 

The whole room was apparently listening in to their conversation, because suddenly everything is very quiet.

For some reason, Will’s heart is pounding so hard he can feel the pulse all the way up in his ears. He has no idea why he’s reacting so violently to Nico’s confession. _You know why…_ his inner Lou Ellen whispers.

The silence is interrupted by the real Lou Ellen entering the room. She plops down on a seat next to Cecil and looks curiously around the table as if she can sense the tension. Which, to be fair, probably isn’t very hard right now.

“What did I miss?” she asks.

“Evidently, Nico’s gay,” Cecil says.

“..and just decided to come out, rather than going to the dance with a girl.” Drew adds in a frosty tone, as if the time and place of his confession is a personal insult. 

“For your information, I’ve been out since I was fourteen…” Nico says, picking one of the flowers Hazel made apart again. Katie looks like she wants to say something, but thinks the better of it.

“But you never told _us_ before,” Drew says, arms folded across her chest and chin jutted out defiantly.

“I also never told you my favorite color, or a number of other personal questions you never asked me about,” he replies surly.

Lou Ellen reaches over the table to bump his fist. “Well anyway. Welcome to the queer community of L.I. High.”

“You’re not queer.” Katie frowns at her and nods in Cecil’s direction. “You’ve got a boyfriend.”

Hazel bangs her head on the table again. Lou Ellen rolls her eyes so hard Will thinks they might have done a full 360 inside her eye sockets. “Yeah, and if I have fries for lunch, it means I never eat pasta, right?” she says, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“So you’re what? Bisexual?” Katie asks, pronouncing the last word like it’s some kind of atrocity. Will wishes she would just shut up for once. He has a feeling this conversation isn’t going to end well.

“I like all kinds of food..." she says but Katie still looks confused.

"Oh my god, it's not hard. I’m pan,” Lou says trowing her arms up like to signal that Katie's ignorance is a personal insult.

Katie’s eyebrows fly up under her fringe, and not in that cute, playful way. “What the heck does that even mean?”

Will takes a deep breath. He really, really doesn’t want to be a part of this conversation. But he also can’t keep letting Katie get away with being a bitch to Lou. Also, he’s a tiny bit scared that Lou’s going to blurt out something about their conversation the other day. Like _Why don’t you ask your boyfriend._ Not that he thinks she will do that, but still. 

“Come on, even I know that,” he says, trying to keep the tone light like they’re all just kidding around. “It means you’re attracted to the person, not the gender.” 

“Wow, aren’t you a walking self-help manual…” Katie snaps. Yeah, he’s going to pay for taking sides later. At least her frustration is directed at him instead of at Lou at the moment. That’s always something, he supposes.

“Well…” Nico says after another uncomfortable silence. “As much fun as this conversation is, I think I’m done with the interior decorations for today. Someone might question my masculinity...” 

Both Hazel and Lou Ellen laugh, and Cecil’s mouth twitches a little as well. The others seem to think it’s too soon for that kind of humor. Will is still in too much shock to react. He wouldn’t have known how anyway. 

As soon as Nico and Hazel are gone, everyone seems to have an opinion on Nico’s sexuality. Luckily, the reactions generally don't seem too bad, except from Eric and Kyle, who materialize out of wherever they had been hiding to get out of the flower making. 

“So that’s why he never showers with us? He probably would have a constant hard-on.” Kyle says, voice full of glee. 

Naturally, this sets Lou Ellen off, and the argument would have degraded completely had it not been for Will’s mediating skills - this time with the support of Katie, to his surprise. She probably wants to play nice with Lou and keep their tentative alliance going, and Will isn’t complaining. Drew and Lacy mostly seem offended that Nico has “led them on” but shut up when Cecil asks how, and Katie points out that at least now they can stop fighting over him. 

The conversation dies down pretty quickly after that. Will doesn’t think for a moment that nobody has anything else to say, but they are all aware of the potential conflict hanging in the air between them. Apparently, not even Eric and Kyle want to mess up the team spirit too badly one week before Homecoming.

.oOo.

“Well, at least I’m back in the game, right?” Connor says, as he drives Will home after Katie finally lets them off her hook.

“What?”

“I mean, with di Angelo out of the picture, perhaps Drew will go to the dance with me?” he says. His usual cockiness is gone and Will can see the vulnerability underneath. 

“Oh… yeah, sure.” he says, feeling like a complete idiot. How has he missed this? Sure, Connor has always been obsessing over Drew, but Will just thought it was like a fun game. Not that he was seriously interested. 

He decides to be a better friend from now on, and a better boyfriend. Katie doesn’t deserve his constant, self indulgent brooding over his uncertainties about sex. And his friends deserve someone who has the energy to focus on their problems too from time to time. He really needs someone else to talk to, an outsider of sorts. 

When he comes home, he makes a decision.

<<To:Lee>> Hi. Heard you’re in the area? If you’re still interested in meeting up, let me know. Will


	9. Nico

Except for the rain lashing against the rooftop and the faint squeaking sound the windshield wipers make as they fight against the heavy downpour, it's quiet in the car. Hazel is focused on driving. Nico is staring out the window. Or, to be honest it’s more like he’s staring at the streams of water flowing down on the other side of the glass. Intently, as if he’s hoping for an answer to the eternal questions in there. From the way he’s chewing on his nails one might think he’s a starving man, and not a well fed one who just polished off two happy meals, a milkshake and a doughnut less than half an hour ago. 

Hazel parks the car in the garage with a sigh and Nico is just about to step out when she stops him with a hand on his arm. 

“Come on, Nico… Talk to me,” she says, 

“What’s there to say?” he asks with a shrug. “Now they know. End of story.” 

Hazel bangs her head back against the headrest and sighs. “Sure, that would be the end of the story, except your persistent silence for the last two hours tells a different one.” 

“I’m not mad at you if that’s what you think,” he mumbles, inspecting what is left of his abused nails carefully instead of looking at his sister. 

And it’s true. Sort of. He is a bit pissed that he didn’t get the chance to come out to his new friends in his own way, but Hazel is right; it was long overdue. The situation with Drew and her friends was slowly getting out of hand. And he’s grateful for that farce to be over. But still. He has no idea what will happen now, or how his team mates will react. No matter what Hazel insinuates, he _had_ intended to tell them soon - he just wanted to win them the game first, that’s all. He even had a plan. He was going to ask Cecil to take a picture of him in front of the scoreboard (boldly assuming they were going to win) and just casually mention that he was sending it to his ex boyfriend to brag, and then let the word spread. And if anyone questioned the ex _boyfriend_ thing he was just going to shrug and say something like “Yeah, didn’t you know? Sorry, thought I had mentioned it…”

“So, what is it?” Hazel asks, interrupting his thoughts.

Nico sighs and shrugs. “I don’t know. I guess I’m just worried how people are going to react, that’s all.”

“I don’t think they are much more bigoted here than in L.A and you were fine there, right?”

“I guess. It’s just…” he looks down on his hands again feeling a bit ashamed to confess his worries. “In L.A. people knew about dad and stuff. I always figured that was one reason nobody gave me a hard time about the gay thing - they didn’t want to end up on my shit list.”

Hazel grabs his arm and looks him steadily in the eyes. “But you wanted that Nico… to be treated like a normal person and accepted for who you are. And you can’t be if you keep hiding stuff from them, right?”

“I didn’t say it was logical…” he mutters and scowls.

And then there’s that other thing. The one he can’t tell Hazel. The one he’s made even worse today by being a complete idiot, allowing himself to relax around Will and practically flirt with the man all afternoon. 

“Come on,” Hazel says and smiles, “I’m sure Rosa will make us some hot chocolate if we ask nicely…” 

.oOo.

Nico isn’t exactly nervous when he comes to school on Monday. Not really. Ok, a bit antsy perhaps. Not wanting to deal with it again, even if the situation is completely different from when he came out last time. That was so much more humiliating - even if nobody dared saying anything he could feel the looks and the whispers. Now, he’s more scared that a few, loud, bigoted assholes will force him into some kind of fight or argument. Like Eric, or Kyle or some other professional dick he hasn’t had the pleasure of meeting yet.

  
It turns out, Lou Ellen has everything covered. Because, of course she does. She has armed the forces of the gay-straight alliance and introduces Nico to other queer kids and their supporters. Her evil masterplan to get Nico to join the GSA seems to consist mostly of pure stubbornness - not that he’s surprised, really. He knows she means well and today of all days he actually doesn’t mind. In theory, he supports GSAs on any regular day as well, naturally. He just isn’t the type of guy who voluntarily engages in school clubs or other assemblies where it is assumed that you will get along with people just because you share a common interest, political view or sexuality. Soccer, of course, being the exception. 

The good thing to come out of Lou’s involvement is that nobody says anything negative to him all day. They are probably scared of Lou Ellen. Who wouldn’t be? Also, he’s grateful can avoid sitting with Solace and the others from the team at lunch. Not that they aren’t being perfectly polite to him, but he just can’t face Will right now. It’s like he’s waiting for the question “Are you into me or something?” even if he knows it’s not likely that it’s actually coming. He just still has a hard time understanding how it’s possible that the constant internal turmoil he feels when he’s around the gorgeous blond isn’t visible on the outside. 

When he slides into his chair next to Drew in Calculus on Tuesday, she’s giving him a look he can’t really interpret and he decides he has to be the one to set things right. He can understand that she’s a little pissed off at him…

“Hey. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, ok?” he says, giving her a sheepish smile. 

She purses her lips at him but shrugs. “You could at least dress like a normal queer person so the girls have a chance of knowing, but I guess not everyone is born with a fashion sense …”

“I guess not.” Nico agrees, silently debating whether to laugh or cry internally. He’s glad Lou Ellen didn’t catch that stupid ass comment, because it would probably have caused a riot. Instead, he says nothing more, and Drew goes back to eyeing him with mild disinterest. It’s a step up from her constant flirting, at least, so he’ll count it as a win. 

Drew may have stopped flirting with him, but by the time he’s sitting with Lou Ellen’s friends at lunch for the second time, it is clear that he has attracted the attention of a couple of other guys who are out instead. Normally, Nico wouldn’t have minded the attention, but somehow he hasn’t got much energy for flirty banter and he just wants to be left alone. The worst one is a guy called Kevin, who is, if not as annoying as Drew was, at least right up there on the scale. First of all, Nico would never go out with a guy named Kevin. Second of all, his hair is obviously bleached blond, with two inches of dark roots visible and way too much styling products. And he dresses like what Drew would probably define as typically queer. Not that that’s a showstopper for Nico, really. But the name, hair and clothes put together somehow adds up to a big No Way! Also, he’s not Will Solace, which apparently _is_ a showstopper for Nico at the moment. Worst of all though is probably the dude’s abysmal flirting skills. It’s like he’s read some book with cheesy pickup lines and bad advice. Nico almost feels sorry for the guy. It would have been hilarious had it been directed at literally anyone else but himself. Most of their exchanges goes something like this:

_By the lockers, before lunch, Monday:_

Lou Ellen: So, this is Kevin and Mitchell from the GSA. Guys, this is Nico, he’s new in the club.

Nico: Hi. (turning to Lou) I didn’t say I would join…

Lou Ellen (rolls eyes and pats him on the back): Yeah, whatever. 

Mitchel: Hi.

Kevin (seductive smile): Hi Nico! Haven’t we met before?

Nico: Um… I don’t think so?

Kevin (looks thoughtful): Wow, I could have sworn I recognize you from somewhere.

Nico: (shrugs)

Kevin (grinning like a cheshire cat): I know! You look just like my future boyfriend!

Nico: (groans)

_Lunchroom, Monday_

Kevin (biting his lip): Is it true that you’re half Italian? 

Nico: Mmm

Kevin (looking into Nico’s eyes and simultaneously licking chocolate from his fingers): Wow, that’s so hot. Can you say something in Italian?

Nico: Yes.

Kevin (looking confused): Is that Italian?

Nico: No, but you asked me if I could say something and the answer is yes. 

Kevin (with stupid smile): Oh my god Nico, you are so funny. How are you so funny?

Nico (deadpan): One of life’s great wonders…

Kevin (back to biting his lip): But isn’t that the sexiest language though…?

Nico (tired glare): I don’t know. My mother taught it to me…

Kevin: oh…

_On the way out from the lunchroom, Tuesday (Since Nico managed to avoid sitting next to Kevin):_

Kevin: Hey, Nico…

Nico: nods.

Kevin: So, I heard you tell Mitchell you’re from Los Angeles…

Nico: Yup.

Kevin (making mysterious face): Isn’t that a weird coincidence?

Nico: Ok, I’ll bite… why?

Kevin (winks): Well, you are from the city of angels, your name means ‘from angles’, right? And you look like an…

Nico (interrupts): Please don’t finish that sentence.

_After school, outside of the gym, Wednesday_

Kevin (leaning in to Nico’s personal space): Nico! Hi! I haven’t seen you almost all day…

Nico (taking a step back): Not since lunch….

Kevin (laughs and rolls eyes): Yeah, but we didn’t get a chance to talk then, Lou was hogging all your attention.

Nico: (shrugs)

Kevin (looking shy): So, do you want to get a coffee or something? 

Nico: I’ve got soccer practice.

Kevin: I could stay and watch? I looooove soccer… (winks) And I love a man who knows his way around balls...

Nico (rolls his eyes): I don’t think it will be much fun to watch, we’ll mostly be talking strategy for Saturday.

Kevin (sighs): Oh. But I’ll definitely be cheering for you then! I can’t wait… Bet you look amazing in the kit….

Nico lasts until Thursday before he decides it’s not worth it. He has to swallow his pride and go back to hanging out with his team mates, even if that includes the impossible task of not staring at one certain dreamy soccer captain. He just hopes they will accept him - so far nobody has said anything, but he’s got a feeling their final judgement will fall after the game on Saturday. If he wins it for them, it will be alright, he’s sure of it. 

When he comes home that night, Tyler tries to call him again but Nico cuts him off. He knows he has to deal with him sooner or later, but today is not the day. Instead, he sends Jason a text and they end up hanging out on face time for the first time in weeks. Nico almost tells Jay everything about his unrequited crush… love… whatever. But he doesn’t want to be that friend who hasn’t called in two months and only shows up when he wants help with his own problems. Instead, they exchange stories about soccer, athletics, Jason’s college, how Nico likes New York, their common friends and family and everything else they usually talk about. It’s a comfort, talking to Jason, even if he doesn’t get any advice about his most pressing problem. Not that there is much advice to give anyway, other than the usual cliché _There’s plenty of fish in the sea_ and such crap. And he certainly doesn't need to hear that. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize to anyone named Kevin who might take offence. It's just Nico being obnoxious because he's so hung up on Will he's almost looking for faults in anyone else. Also, I was thinking about making annoying-Kevin one of the canon characters, but I couldn't find one I wanted to do that to. Someone who is annoying as hell but totally harmless and not evil? I had to invent another OC, hope you guys don't mind.


	10. Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so things are getting pretty intense now for poor Will... The chapter is a bit on the long side, I could probably have done more to shorten it down, but then I wouldn't have finished it today and tomorrow I have other things that need to be done so I wanted to get it up tonight. I was extremely tired when I edited this though, so I may have to go back an fix some errors later... Sorry about that. 
> 
> Some warnings for this chapter:   
> Mild, and extremely awkward, sexual content   
> One brief occurrence of a homophobic slur  
> Mild angst

The week leading up to the big game is like an emotional rollercoaster to Will. The worst part might be that Lee responded almost at once to the text he sent asking him to meet up. He wants to get together for coffee as soon as Will can make it. This makes Will either nervous, excited or terrified, depending on his mood, and he hasn’t plucked up the courage to set a date yet. His volatile state of mind isn’t helped by the fact that Katie is more on edge than usual, fretting about the preparations for the dance and the new cheerleading routine. Will finds the whole situation extremely frustrating, as he can’t afford any conflicts with his girlfriend at the moment. It’s all he can do to keep his mind off Nico and the big revelation the other day even without doubting his own relationship. 

Everybody acts just as always around Nico. Well, almost. It’s like everything is too normal, but nobody wants to threaten the equilibrium by addressing the rainbow colored elephant in the room. Will has hardly spoken with him since Saturday, except during practice, but he’s not sure who is avoiding whom. Somehow, the thought of the upcoming game gives Will an uneasy feeling of foreboding; like it will decide Nico’s future on the team.

When game day finally comes, Will doesn’t know why he even doubted Nico for a second. He is spectacular on the field as always, leading to a crushing victory for them. Any awkwardness between them is gone by the time they step out on the field, and Will and Nico make an amazing front, with Nico dribbling his way through the opposing defense and passing the ball to Will, who scores with as much confidence as ever. Over and over. Nobody seems to think twice about wrapping Nico up in the group hugs in the heat of the moment; not even Will. Everything feels wonderfully normal, and Will allows himself to exhale with relief after the game. Perhaps the weirdness he felt around Nico in the showers that day was a projection of Nico actually being uncomfortable around  _ them _ ?

Nico too seems to relax a little after the game, probably taking their behavior as acceptance, and agrees to come with them all to a party at Connor’s place after the dance. The only one who’s grumpy is Eric, who only got to play the last five minutes, but not even he dares to complain openly about Nico today. 

.oOo.

Eight hours later, Katie is drunk, and Will doesn’t know how to handle her, exactly. It’s not like it’s her first time drinking, but this is the first time he’s seen her more or less smashed. Perhaps it’s one of those “this is our senior year” things, or it’s just her way to let go of all the stress of the last week? Or Connor spiked the punch more than advertised, which wouldn’t surprise Will at all. Drunk Katie is kind of funny, Will thinks, but also very handsy. Usually, they’re not much for PDA, but today she seems to have lost all inhibitions. She comes stumbling into Will’s personal space just as he sits with his team and debriefs the game for the umpteenth time, straddles him and kisses him deeply, thrusting her tongue down his throat until he almost chokes. Naturally, the guys wolf whistle and make affirmative sounds, shouting things like “Get a room…” and “Finally you’re getting some Solace…”. Will flushes scarlet as he awkwardly tries to decide where to put his hands. He tries to push Katie back a bit to get some space, but she wriggles around at the same moment and his hands land right on her tits. Their spectators go wild, and when someone suggests bringing out the phone and filming, even Katie seems to realize that they might have gone a bit too far. 

She blushes but giggles and pulls him up from his seat. “Come on, let’s get out of here…” she says, as she tows him away.

He looks around at his teammates in panic, hoping for some help. But, naturally, nobody seems to think it’s weird at all. Cecil and Connor just look mildly amused and most of the others are still egging him on. Then, his eyes meet Nico’s gaze, and it feels like a punch in the gut. The brown eyes are even darker than usual, and the expression on his face is strained. Will is overcome by a sudden, weird, urge to explain himself. He wants to tell Nico that no, he isn’t going to sleep with Katie. He just has to get her out of here before she makes a total fool out of herself. He almost says something before he realizes he has no reason whatsoever to do so.

Katie drags him upstairs and manages to find her way into what he thinks is Connor’s brother’s old room. She falls down on the bed and drags Will down with her, landing them in a tangle of limbs. She giggles in a very un-Katie like manner and wraps herself around him like an octopus. An octopus who smells strongly of some unidentified kind of liquor. She sticks her tongue right back down Will’s throat and starts fumbling with the buttons in his shirt. A cold sense of panic creeps up Will’s spine. Hell, he’s not ready for this. Whatever it is…

“Hey, wait… Katie, can you slow down a bit?” he pleads, holding her hands still. 

“What? You were so hot on the field today… I want to do sexy things with you…” she slurs, wiggling her eyebrows and bursting out in giggles again.

“Katie, you’re drunk. We agreed to wait, remember?” he tries.

“Yeah, but we also agreed we could do other stuff, right? We could… touch.” she says huskily, and palms him through his jeans. 

Holy shit, this is the most forward Katie has ever been. Even when she’s tipsy, she’s usually almost as shy about sex as Will, very carefully feeling her way and stopping as soon as he holds back. Tonight, her ability to take a hint seems to be lost.

“Ok, but I don’t want us to do anything you regret tomorrow…” he says feebly, while trying desperately to catch up with her. To convince himself that he wants this. It’s not full on sex, it’s just touching. They’ve done stuff like this before. Sort of, anyway. At least on top of clothes, so it’s ok. 

“I won’t…” Katie promises. She looks deep into his eyes and starts unbuttoning his jeans. Fuck. “Anyway, we’ve got to practice for the big event, right? It’ll be awkward if we’re going to go straight from kissing to fucking…” she argues, bursting out into another fit of giggles as she says the f-word, possibly for the first time in her life. 

“Alright, but let me start, ok?” he says. Perhaps if he can set the pace, it won’t be this overwhelming, and they will find a rhythm he can keep up with. He kisses her and tries to just focus on the moment, tangling his hand into her long locks. She moans loudly and writhes under him in a way he’s completely unfamiliar with. It feels ok, though. Perhaps he’s not completely hopeless at this if he can get that reaction out of her? 

“Oh… yeah… touch me…” she moans, and leads one of his hands up under her shirt, until he starts massaging her breast. It’s nothing new, exactly, they’ve done this before. Only, now it’s like she’s taken over by the spirit of some old porn star, moaning and pleading for him to go further. His right hand is clammy and trembles as she pushes it up under her skirt and down the hem of her panties. She’s quivering under his touch, arching her back and begging for him to go on.  _ You can do this, come on…  _ he tries to pep talk himself, but the truth is that he’s more terrified than aroused at the moment. Something doesn’t feel right. He needs more time, needs to start more slowly. 

Slow doesn’t seem to be in Katie’s vocabulary tonight though. She keeps going and manages to fumble his zipper down and wriggles her small hand down into his boxers.

“Come on, let me touch you too…” she says as she wraps her hand around his semi. She tugs a couple of times, a little bit too hard and fast for where he’s at right now, but at least she doesn’t seem to notice that he’s not fully erect, and his dick reacts with certain interest to the touch, filling out slightly more. He exhales in relief. Good. Now, he just needs his brain to get on the same page as the rest of his body…

“God, it feels so good…” she moans again, bucking up into his touch. “Can’t wait until we can really do it.”

“Yeah….” He tries to sound excited, and he almost thinks he can get her satisfied and be out of there with his dignity intact. If he closes his eyes and thinks about that feeling from his dreams of something wet and hot and tries to ignore the way her pace is all wrong when she jerks him off... It almost works and he just starts to think he’s a normal guy, who might be able to enjoy sex after all, when the door bursts open. 

Nico stumbles through the door with a dude Will has never seen before in tow behind him. He looks like he’s a couple of years older and has a NYU hoodie on. It’s probably a college friend of Connor’s older brother. 

“Oops, Travis said this room would be free… Sorry,” college dude says, not sounding sorry at all. Yep, a friend of Travis’. 

Katie bursts out in nervous giggles again and buries her head in Will’s neck, like she hopes nobody will recognize her. Will’s eyes linger on Nico for a second too long, and it feels like a bucket of ice water has been thrown over his head. 

Nico tears his eyes away first, shrugs and mouths “sorry” before closing the door behind him again, leaving Will and Katie alone to go have fun with college dude. Fuck. Will wants to scream at him not to go. To save him from this awkward situation. To leave college dude behind and take Katie’s place at Will’s side… 

_ Shit, shit, shit, shit… _

Katie has evidently forgotten the awkwardness quickly, and pushes his hand back down her panties and starts riding his fingers. Will squeezes his eyes shut, trying not to panic. But he can’t do this. Shit, he just can’t. Katie seems to notice something is wrong too, when she gropes after his dick again, only to find it hanging limp inside his boxers.

“What’s wrong? Don’t you want to?” she pouts.

_ Shit, shit, shit, shit…  _ He can’t tell her that. Not now. Not like this. He needs time to think…

“Not like this, Katie. It doesn’t work. We’re drunk, there are people bursting through the door… I don’t want our first of anything to be like this,” he says.

“You’re such a gentleman…” She snickers, but lets him go and adjust her clothes, evidently satisfied with the explanation.

His head is spinning - and it’s not from alcohol - as they stumble down the stairs. He tries to look like he’s not about to throw up when his friends are shouting and whistling again.

“Well, well, well, don’t you just rock that newly fucked look my dude...” Eric says and claps him on the shoulder. 

“Why don’t you get a girlfriend of your own instead of obsessing over my sex life?” he snaps, unable to keep up the pretense. 

“Oh, burn… so you didn’t get laid after all?” Eric laughs.

“That’s none of your business, you know. I just think you could be less of a jerk about girls sometimes.” 

“Wow. Did she cut your balls and dick off up there, man? Perhaps you should go join the team fag and his conquest in whatever they are doing upstairs…” Eric says, making a disgusted face.

Will’s hands twitch and clench, the rage bubbling up inside of him like an unstoppable wave of hot lava. He wants to punch Eric in the face so badly. All of his doubts, shame and fear from the last couple of weeks somehow boil down to this moment, and that fucking douchebag standing before him, teasing. He almost doesn’t even care about being thrown off the team if the Coach finds out he started a fight. 

As usual, Lou Ellen, his guardian angel, comes in and saves him from himself. 

“Alright, enough with this already...” she says, stepping right into the space between them. Will suspects she didn’t catch what Eric just said, or she would have been the one at his throat. But it’s all good, Will just needs to get out of there right now. 

Lou helps him find Katie again and she and Cecil offer to drive them both home. Will didn’t actually drink anything, but he doesn’t want to be alone with Katie at the moment so he accepts. She can pick up her car tomorrow. He sits crammed in the backseat of Lou’s old beetle, which obviously wasn’t built for anyone over 6 ft. Katie is leaning on his shoulder, dozing off as the car drives through the town. 

He should probably be feeling bad about his almost-fight with Eric. He should be obsessing about his near attempt at sex. Hell, he should be bragging about the goals he scored in the game, which took place just this morning even if it feels like a lifetime ago. He should most definitely be worried about Katie's dad killing him when he brings her home drunk. But all he can think about is what Nico is doing right now, locked in a bedroom somewhere in that house with some college dude. It feels like his stomach is full of cement. 

.oOo.

On Sunday, Will has promised to meet up with Lee for a coffee at some hipster place in Brooklyn. He takes the train since it’s only a 45 minute ride to the city. Also, he told his mum he would go to Cecil’s and that doesn’t give him a reason to take her car. He would probably have been too nervous to drive, anyway. There’s so much going on in his mind right now, both the drama the night before, but also the idea of finally meeting his half brother. Or, meeting him again. 

Will knows Lee and one other half brother he thinks was named Michael used to visit when he was little, but he can’t remember much of it and he doesn’t know why they stopped coming since it was a year or two before his dad left. Evidently, his dad can’t keep it in his pants, because Will knows he has at least one more half sibling who is almost the same age as him - a girl named Kayla, but he has no idea where she lives. He just overheard his mom telling one of her friends about it, and he wonders if that affair was the reason his parents got divorced. Which leads him to the thought that perhaps his mom was the reason his dad left Lee’s mom, and that makes him even more nervous. What if his brother is secretly bitter and blames him?

When he steps into the café, a sandy haired guy a couple of years older than him immediately waves him over. He briefly wonders if Lee has stalked him online or how he knows what Will looks like. 

“Will! Wow, you look so much like dad it’s almost uncanny…” Lee says with a friendly smile and an outstretched hand. Well, that explains it, then.

Will is a bit intimidated by the familiarity, but takes his brother’s hand anyway and smiles. “So, you must be Lee then? Hi...” 

“You don’t remember me at all from when we were little, do you?” Lee asks with a lopsided smile. 

Will shrugs. “Not really, sorry. I’ve got some vague memories, but…”

“It’s ok. I mean, I was nine the last time we met, which would have made you, what? Five-ish? I guess there’s a big difference between what you remember at five and at nine?”

“I guess…” 

Will wants to ask why they stopped coming around, but he’s afraid to go anywhere near the subject of their dad. As far as he knows, Lee still has some contact with Apollo, and Will is both a bit jealous and resentful. He wants a brother who can share his anger and whom he can talk to about his stupid dad. He’s afraid Lee will defend the idiot and try to convince Will to contact him if he brings it up. Somehow, Lee seems to feel the tension in Will’s voice every time their conversation strays anywhere near parents, siblings or why they moved from Texas, and skillfully steers them into safer waters.

Instead, they talk about school, friends, soccer, living in New York, Lee’s life at Columbia and everything in between. Will relaxes quickly around Lee. He may not remember the man, but he feels familiar. It's like talking to an old friend. Or brother. Shit. He’s got a brother! The realization hits him in the middle of something mundane Lee is talking about, and bubbles of happiness are welling up inside him, almost making him laugh out loud. Lee wants to get to know him, actually seems to like him, and feels like a real brother almost at once. 

When they have been sitting in the café for so long none of them can drink another latte without vomiting, they go for a walk and Lee shows him around the city. When they pass an art exhibition, Lee tells him about taking this girl he’s interested in there some day. 

“She loves everything to do with arts and paintings and stuff. I’m more of a music guy myself, but what won’t you do to please a fair lady, eh?” he says and elbows Will in the arm.

Will swallows down a lump of anxiety. He had hoped Lee wouldn’t be one of those macho guys… This makes it more difficult if he ever wants to talk about his messed up love life. What if the guy’s homophobic? He doesn’t seem like a bigoted idiot, but one never knows.

“Yeah...“ Will laughs uncertainly. 

Lee raises an eyebrow. “So, what about you?”

“What about me?”

“Are you seeing someone? Girlfriend, boyfriend….?” he asks as if it’s the most natural thing and Will lets out a breath of relief. 

“Well, yeah. I’ve got a girlfriend. Katie…” he says.

Lee gives him an expectant look. “So… what’s she like? Have you been dating long?”

“Yeah, she’s great. We’ve been going out for like nine months or something…” Will answers with a shrug.

“Alright. You don’t seem too enthusiastic about it?” Lee asks. 

“Oh. Sorry. No, I mean. She is amazing, she really is… It’s just a bit… Complicated.” 

“Complicated?”

Will hadn’t planned on telling his brother everything about his awkwardness about sex, his doubts regarding his relationship with Katie and his tentative sexual identity crisis. Not on their first time meeting anyway. But somehow, Lee is so trustworthy and open, asking all the right questions, and saying all the right things to comfort. And before Will even knows it, he’s told him the whole story. Including almost getting an erection when Nico was in the shower next to him. It’s probably the most embarrassing conversation he’s ever had, but somehow Lee makes it ok. He doesn’t laugh or ridicule Will in any way. And it feels like a three tonne weight has been lifted off his chest after he finishes his story. 

“Wow, I had almost forgotten how hard it was to be a teenager,” Lee says and puts an arm around Will when he’s finally finished. 

“So that’s your diagnosis? Severe case of teenage angst?” Will says and can’t help laughing at himself. 

“Ha ha, sure. I wish I could give you a quick fix solution, but I’m not sure there is one.”

They sit in silence for a little while, until Will asks the question he’s been afraid to think about.

“So, do you think I might be gay?”

Lee gives him a thoughtful look. “Before I answer that, let me ask you a question - would it be so terrible if you were?” 

Will thinks about this. He wants to be open minded and progressive, but he also wants to be honest with Lee. “I don’t know. I mean, I don’t mind gay people. But still. It would complicate things…”

“How?”

“Well, you know how it is. People are still people. It might be harder to get a job, or to have kids and stuff. And then there’s college...” Will says glumly.

“I can assure you it’s easier in college than in high school. Well, if you are somewhere progressive anyway… I’ve got a lot of queer friends and they don’t seem to have more problems than anyone else.” Lee answers.

“Perhaps, but my only way in is if I can get a soccer scholarship…”

“What? Why? I thought you had good grades…I mean, you won’t get into med school on a sports scholarship alone.” 

Will suddenly feels a bit awkward, since he fears where this conversation is going. “Yeah...but I don’t have the funds.” He lowers his eyes and stares at his shoes. “Mom has struggled to support us since dad left, and, well, there wasn’t much money to save up I guess.” 

When he looks up, Lee has a surprised look on his face. Will wonders if Apollo helped pay for his college or if his mom is loaded. Or maybe he has worked hard himself all those high school years and thinks Will is an idiot for focusing on soccer instead. 

Lee opens and closes his mouth a couple of times, as if he’s not sure what to say. “I’m sure if you asked dad though…” he starts, but Will cuts him off.

“No. No way I’m asking  _ him _ for money…” he snaps with a bit more acid than necessary perhaps. He can practically see how Lee fights against the urge to come to Apollo’s defense, but he says nothing. 

“Ok, let’s not go there right now. We were talking about your love life, right?” he says finally, changing the subject back to safer grounds. 

And when the hell did his sexual identity crisis become safer grounds? 

“Yeah… so, do you think I’m gay?” Will repeats.

“I honestly don’t know Will. I mean, it could be that you’re bisexual and just not attracted to Katie or ready for sex with her. Or perhaps it’s just a phase. It’s natural to be curious when you’re a teenager and try stuff out you know.” 

“Did you ever? Try something with a guy? Or did you always know you were straight?”

Lee thinks about this and chuckles at some memory. “Well, I was curious for a while. I mean, dad’s bisexual as you know, and he always encouraged me to keep my options open. ‘You can’t know if you haven’t tried..’” he quotes, looking apologetically at Will. “Sorry, didn’t mean to drag him up again…”

Will is too astonished to be upset though. “He’s bisexual?” he asks, a little too loudly. An old lady with a dog turns around and frowns at them. 

“Yeah… didn’t you know?” Lee asks, genuinely surprised.

“No!” Will exclaims. “I mean, we never talk about him much, but mom’s a bit conservative, so I would have assumed she would have used it as another proof of him being a jerk if she knew about that, so…” 

Lee gives him a long look full of something Will can’t put his finger on. Pity? Anger? Surprise? 

“Right. I don’t think we should go there right now... I mean, I don’t want dad to get between us, ok?” he says after a while. “But maybe.... Maybe you should ask your mum about why they separated some day, ok?” 

“I already know why. He cheated on her and left us, never to be heard from again. Never sent me any money or birthday cards or anything…” Will says glumly, but adds “Look, I don’t want it to come between us either. If he’s been nice to you, that’s great for you I guess. But he’s never been there for me, you know?” 

“Ok.” Lee sighs. “I don’t think that’s the whole story though, but let’s not go there. I only know dad’s version anyway.” Lee gives him a smile and a friendly elbow bump, but he looks a bit more thoughtful than before. 

“So, what are you going to do about Katie?” he asks after another moment of silence.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to lose her, but…”

“But you can’t string her along like that if you’re not on the same page,” Lee fills in. 

Will sighs. “I know. It’s not fair. But what the hell should I tell her?”

“If she’s such a great friend as you say, perhaps you should try honesty?” Lee suggests.

Will gapes. “What? Tell her about how I might have a crush on my team mate?”

“Well, that’s up to you. But I meant for you to tell her that you’re not ready for sex, or sure that you’ll ever be with her,” Lee says.

“Fuck. She’s going to hate me…” 

“You can’t avoid it forever without an explanation either, you know. And I don’t think you should do anything you’re not comfortable with Will. Let’s say you realize you are gay, and don’t want to come out yet - I guess that’s up to you. But don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. Don’t lie to yourself.” 

“So you think that’s it? Me being gay?”

“I think that’s a possibility. But you won’t know for sure until you try. I knew at once when I tried to kiss a guy that it wasn’t like kissing girls. It just wasn’t my thing. But you’ve only been with girls, and they’ve not really done it for you, as I understand?”

Will thinks about how to answer that for a moment. No, they haven’t done much to him, if getting him hard is what Lee means. But it has also not been totally unpleasant. He has liked kissing Katie. It’s soft and warm and comfortable and makes him feel close to her…. 

Will shrugs, uncertain of what to say. It seems logical to experiment, but still too scary. Perhaps Will doesn’t even want to confirm if he’s gay. And how is he supposed to try without coming out to all his friends anyway?

Lee apparently has the solution to that though. “Hey, I know… you should come to a college party with me sometimes. Where you don’t know anyone? I bet all the gay guys would throw themselves at you. And the girls too…” he gives Will a wink. “You could try out some different flavors…”

“Yeah, that wouldn’t be embarrassing at all - the awkward high school virgin trying to pick up older, experienced girls…” Will mutters. ”Or boys…” 

“Oh, they would think you’re cute, I swear…” Lee laughs and Will glares at him, but can’t help it turning into a smile. This is what it’s supposed to be like, having an older brother, right? 

Lee nudges him with his shoulder and smiles a reassuring smile. “Seriously though, I would love it if you would come by and meet my friends sometime. You don’t have to do anything with any of them, it was just a joke… Mostly.” 

They say good bye half an hour later, with the promise to meet up again soon. Will’s mind is full of even more thoughts as he boards the train back to Long Island, but his heart is lighter. He can do this. It’s going to be ok, somehow. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I have to say that I'm sorry I didn't have time to read and answer questions and comments since the last chapters! I'm truly grateful to all of you people who have left kudos and comments suggesting stuff and cheering me on. You make my day every time <3 I didn't manage to squeeze annoying-Kevin into this chapter, but he'll be back at some point, I promise :)


	11. Nico

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is really short... sorry about that. I was considering adding another scene, but this fic will be long enough without a lot or filler chapters, so you'll just have to live with a short visit to Nico's place today...
> 
> Tomorrow, I'll have to get back to work, so I'm not sure I'll be able to keep up with editing and posting one chapter a day, depends on how much there is to edit and change in each chapters. Some are basically done, but in some others I know there are scenes that don't really work that I'll have to rewrite. But expect an update at least every 2 to 3 days or so?

Nico spends most of Sunday morning obsessing about the previous night and the incident where he walked in on Solace with the hands up his pretty little girlfriend’s skirt. The image, although unwelcome, is pretty hard to just wipe out of his brain. He has seen the two of them together before, naturally; and he has known about her since day one. To be honest, he has been jealous enough, on occasion, even before yesterday. But they never showed much affection in public before. From the way Solace is looking at her, sometimes Nico has wondered if they are more friends than lovers. And then there was that conversation he overheard where it was pretty clear that they at least weren’t having sex, which was a small comfort. And somehow that had made him hope, in all his stupidity. Just like he had promised himself not to do. Idiot. 

That hope was instantly crushed when the two love birds started making out like real teenagers at the party, and disappeared. And Nico panicked. A friend of Connor’s brother had been hitting on him earlier that night, and although he hadn’t been interested at all at the time; when he saw Solace sucking face with his pretty perfect cheerleader, Nico instantly changed his mind. At that moment, what he needed was a distraction. Desperately. But then he and the other guy (he can’t even fucking remember the dude’s name, which must be considered a new low even for him) walked in on Solace and girlfriend - again. The mood was, unsurprisingly, killed stone dead and he left the poor guy, probably with a severe case of blue balls, and snuck out of the party. 

“Nico, wake up! It’s time for brunch…” Hazel calls from outside his room, interrupting his sulking. Because that’s what he’s been doing. There’s no better word for it, really, embarrassing as it may be. 

Nico sighs and considers his options. Family brunch on Sundays is a tradition one does not easily skip without a good explanation, and he has no intentions on telling Hazel or his dad why he has taken to hiding in his room and brooding. It would probably do him good to get out of bed anyway.

When he gets downstairs, everyone else is already sitting at the table talking animatedly about something that sounds suspiciously like algebra. He considers going back to bed. 

“Ah, the hero of the day - that was some game yesterday, son,” his dad greets him with a proud smile before he has the chance to bolt, and claps his shoulder as he sits down. 

“I don’t know if I’m the hero exactly, I only scored one goal…” Nico shrugs.

His dad gives him a fond look and shakes his head. “Always so modest, Nico. You made three assists as well, and you destroyed their defense completely. By far the best player on the field, I’d say.”

“Yeah, and you’re completely unbiased, of course…” Nico mutters, but smiles nonetheless. He does know that he’s good, but soccer is really a team effort so it’s not false modesty either. And Will is a brilliant striker who never misses an opening if he gets one. Together, they make an amazing front, which is just even more annoying. Especially since his dad seems to read his mind.

“That striker who scored the other three goals isn’t half bad either - Solace, is it?” Nico nods and his dad continues.“You’re a good offensive team, the two of you. Your dribbling and his aim, damn…”

“Yeah, he’s a really good player,” Nico agrees, going for something neutral.

His dad smirks and wiggles his eyebrows. “He’s handsome too, isn’t he?” he asks, looking between Hazel and Nico for confirmation. Gods, Nico hates when he does this, even of the best of days. Trying to bond with his kids over something he knows nothing about. The fact that he happened to get it right this time isn’t making it any better. 

Hazel groans. “Dad… stop embarrassing yourself…”

“He’s straight anyway, and his looks hardly matter for his ability to strike goals, so…” Nico says, glaring at his dad.

“What?” Hades says, evidently offended. He smears too much butter on a croissant while he weighs his response, and turns to Persephone for support. “I just think that if I get a gay son who won’t give me grandchildren the least he could do is to bring a decent soccer player into the family…” 

“There are ways for homosexuals to have children nowadays, you know, love…” Persephone informs him, stirring sugar into her tea. It’s some kind of fancy European habit she refuses to let go of - drinking tea out of a little cup with a saucer in the morning, instead of coffee in a mug like normal people. Nico thinks she’s forgotten that her heritage is Greek and not British.

“Yes, but the only way I could see Nico have children is if he accidentally knocked somebody up and that’s not likely to happen…” Hades replies. 

Nico thinks he deserves a medal for not losing his temper. Or moving out of the house on the spot. “Will you stop? I’m still in high school, you might want to wait a couple of years before marrying me off or start looking for a surrogate for my children…” he mutters. 

At least they have stopped talking about Solace… That’s something, he supposes.

They go back to dissecting the game and analyzing all the players on the team, because his father is a real soccer nerd who is trying to live out his passion for the game through Nico, as he can’t play anymore. Soccer is one of the few things Nico and his dad can really talk about which is a bit cliché, probably. At least it’s better than nothing. Jules Albert shows up after a while to weigh in on the subject. As they have to start all over again, analyzing the game, Hazel and Persephone lose interest and leave the three of them to it.

.oOo.

Sunday evening finds Nico sitting cross legged on his bed, talking to Tyler on his computer. It isn’t the first time they have communicated since Nico came to New York, but it’s the first time he’s really sat down with him face to face like this. He doesn’t know why he felt like it to today, but it’s probably partly because he needs to remember a time when he felt wanted. Included. Also, they have games to talk about now. Sports is always a safe topic. 

Nico tells his ex boyfriend about his new school, and his team, as well as all there is to say about yesterday’s game, naturally. Tyler gets him up to date about his old friends and what has happened in L.A. since Nico left. His old life still feels very distant, though. The drama of their little clique pointless. Perhaps it’s because he’s an egocentric bastard who doesn’t think his old friends are worth much of his attention now that he’s not there to share their daily life. Or perhaps this is just what happens? Once you get a bit of perspective on things, petty teenage drama isn’t much to write home about. 

Be as it may, it’s still nice to talk to Tyler. Comfortable. Safe. 

“Hey, Neeks… I miss you, you know?” Tyler says, right in the middle of a familiar debate of lacrosse vs soccer. 

Nico feels a pang of guilt at not having thought much about his ex lately, but it’s still nice to feel desired. “Yeah? You miss arguing with me?” he teases. It’s a diversion since he can’t exactly return the compliment. At least not in the way Ty wants him to. 

“Among other things…” Tyler says, raising his eyebrows in a suggestive wiggle.

Nico just gives him a lopsided smile. That’s Tyler, alright. He’s got a one track mind sometimes. Or two tracks, perhaps. It’s usually either set on lacrosse or on sex. 

Tyler smiles back and bites his lips. “Do you remember that time when you pulled your hamstring and I was supposed to give you a massage in Coach Milan’s office?”

Oh, man does Nico remember that? That massage had led to the hottest sex Nico had ever experienced. He doesn’t have a kink for public sex exactly, but he has to admit the possibility of being caught was kind of thrilling. And fucking in the gym, all oiled up from the massage, was like a fantasy worthy of a cheap porno. It has been a favorite in his spank bank ever since it happened. 

“How could I possibly forget that?” Nico answers, voice cracking slightly. Even now, as much as he’s heartbroken and not really missing his ex like that, his cock still stirs in his pants at the image Tyler is planting in his brain. He’s seventeen and hasn’t gotten laid in almost three months, so sue him for being horny… 

Nico strongly suspects Tyler was hoping for phone sex by dropping that comment. Or skype sex? Whatever it’s called, Nico is not in the mood for that. He wants to rebuild his friendship with Tyler, and he doesn’t think jerking off together on opposite sides of a computer screen is the way to do that. Instead, he excuses himself and terminates the call to give himself a hand. Alone. The fantasy he uses, with the old memories of Tyler in the gym, quickly transforms into his new locker rooms, and to blond curls, strong arms and freckles… 

Fucking Will Solace. The bane of his existence.


	12. Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for mild sexual content of the very awkward kind... 
> 
> Also, warning for mild angst and sad characters, but you knew they had it coming at some point, right?

The silence is palpable as it fills the car when Katie drives Will to school on Monday morning. It’s unusual, o say the least. Normally, Will and Katie have no problems keeping a conversation flowing. Or, at least to fill the space between them with at least one person talking. 

“So, where were you all day yesterday?” Katie asks after almost seven painful minutes of awkwardness. 

Will lets out a relieved breath. He has been wondering, with a rising sense of panic, if she can somehow read his thoughts and knows that he’s spent most of the night thinking about whether or not he should break up with her. 

Will gives her a small smile. “Oh, I had a date in the city…” he says cryptically.

Katie screeches to a halt and turns to Will with an offended expression. “What!?”

“No, not that kind of date…” Will assures her, realizing his mistake. “I met up with Lee for coffee...”

“Lee?” 

“Yeah. My half brother, you know? The one who goes to Columbia?” 

Katie frowns. “Oh. You didn’t tell me you had contacted him… I thought you didn’t want to?

Will sighs as he realizes he may have been shutting his girlfriend out a bit lately. “I’m sorry. It was a sort of spontaneous decision. I’m glad I did though...”

“So, what’s he like?” she asks.

“He’s great.” Will answers, smiling. “Did you know he’s a pre-med too? I’ve got so much to learn from him!”

“Cool. I’m happy for you. Really.” Katie assures him, but her smile doesn’t seem all genuine and her tone is sort of clipped. “What did your mom say though?”

“Oh. I didn’t exactly tell her..?” he confesses.

“What? Wow, that’s… Shouldn’t you though? If you mean to keep in contact with him?”

Will deflates a little. “I guess. I just don’t want to stir up anything. I will tell her eventually, I just want to get to know him a bit first, you know.”

“Ok, but it’s alway better to be honest, you know that right?” Katie says, a sharp note in her voice. 

“Yeah, of course.”

Will gets a feeling that the last part of the conversation was actually about something else completely, and his stomach drops as he realizes he has to talk to Katie sooner rather than later.

The thing is, though, he still isn’t sure about what to do. Part of him feels like he really loves her, and he’s terrified of losing her friendship. He just can’t picture a scenario where he breaks up and she’s all “Wow, that’s fine. Let’s stay friends.” Things are still awkward between Cecil and Lacy, and it’s been months since they broke up. If it wasn’t for Will and Katie, they probably wouldn’t be on speaking terms at all, and he’s scared their whole friend group will fall apart if they break up. 

He really hates change…

Things are a bit weird between him and Nico as well, the embarrassing encounter at the party hanging between them unmentioned - until Nico slides into an empty seat across the table from Katie on Tuesday at lunch. He says hi and Katie nods in return, flushing scarlet at the sight of him. 

“I’m sorry about… you know?” she says after a couple of awkward minutes. “I’m usually not… well... I was a bit drunk.” 

Lou Ellen rolls her eyes and Cecil snorts with laughter. Somehow, everyone seems to know Nico walked in on them at the party. Even worse, rumors seem to have spread he was actually walking in on them having sex. Katie probably doesn’t know about these though, or she wouldn’t have addressed it in public. 

Nico’s face is like a mask of indifference, but he won’t meet Will’s eyes. 

“It’s ok, I mean. I’m not exactly in a position to blame you for what you were doing in there,” he says and gives Katie a strained smile, still not looking at Will.

“So, was that your boyfriend you were with or something?” Katie asks, and isn’t it just typical that it’s Will’s girlfriend of all people who manages to voice the question Will has been dying to ask? 

Nico’s lips twitch a bit, and he has some kind of silent conversation with Lou Ellen. Since when did the two of them become so chummy, Will wonders?

“More my…  _ or something _ , in that case,” Nico agrees, dipping a fry in too much ketchup and popping it into his mouth.

“Spare her innocent little soul…” Lou Ellen says and Katie makes a face at her.

“She didn’t look so innocent the last time I saw her…” Nico says and Katie blushes again and buries her face in her hands. Will wants to kick him. Hard. Why can’t he just shut up?

Nico bursts out laughing. “Relax, I was joking. You’ve been going out with your boyfriend for what, almost a year soon? Nobody will slutshame you for making out with him, you know… It’s not a bad thing.” 

Will looks up at Nico, surprised. He still doesn’t spare Will a single glance though. Something is wrong with the way Nico jokes around but refuses to look at him.

Wednesday follows pretty much the same pattern - Nico is perfectly nice to everyone else, but seems to do his best to ignore Will when he can get away with it, and it’s starting to get frustrating. Sure, Will may be a bit nervous about getting too close to Nico, but this avoidance isn’t making things any better and he doesn’t understand it. Is Nico really that embarrassed about walking in on him and Katie, or did something else happen? 

He really needs to prove to himself that he can be friends with Nico. That everything is normal. At lunchtime that day, he decides he’s going to make sure he’s sitting next to Nico so he can’t avoid talking to him. It’s a warm day for the beginning of October and they all decide to sit outside and enjoy what might be one of the last chances this year. Nico sits down on the far edge of one of the benches at the large table, opposite from Lou Ellen, and Will takes a seat next to him. He’s scared of getting too close though, which turns out to be the flaw in his plan. Just as he gets ready to strike up a conversation with Nico, a voice interrupts them from behind.

“Hi Lou, hi Nico…” Kevin Brooks is standing there with a big grin plastered across his stupid face, and his gaze fixed hungrily on Nico. “Can I sit here?” 

Kevin looks pointedly at the small space between Will and Nico and Will’s first instinct is to refuse to move a single inch to the side. He doesn’t even really know Kevin Brooks. They had like two classes together last year and have barely spoken a word to each other. But Will can’t really say anything unless he wants to be that stereotypical asshole who thinks he’s too cool to sit with anyone but his usual entourage. Evidently, Kevin thinks he knows Lou Ellen and Nico.

“I’m sure Solace doesn’t need two seats to himself, or do you?” Nico asks, flashing him a triumphant smirk. Something dark and ugly stirs in the pit of Will’s stomach at the thought of Nico looking so smug about not having to sit next to him. And the feeling just grows even more overwhelming as Kevin starts flirting blatantly with Nico. He keeps talking about how great Nico was last Saturday, complementing everything from his dribbling skills, to his one goal and the way he looks in a soccer kit… Gods, Will doesn’t think he’s ever met anyone as annoying as this guy. And he clearly doesn’t know a thing about soccer either from the way he keeps going on about weird stuff. Like how unfair it was that the referee blew his whistle just as Nico was about to score that one time…

“He was clearly offside though…” Will says, unable to contain himself any longer. “You know, if you love soccer that much, you might want to learn the rules…” 

It comes out a bit harsher than he had planned it to and Lou glares at him from across the table. 

“Rules…? The way I see it, there are more interesting things about soccer... “ Kevin says, unaffected, flashing a predatory smile at Nico.

Will thinks he may throw up, and it wasn’t something he ate...

.oOo.

When Will gets the chance to ride home with Lou Ellen again, he jumps at it and suggests another stop at the waffle house. 

“So, what the hell did I do to Nico?” he asks bluntly as soon as they sit down and trade back their black coffee and cinnamon latte that the barista got mixed up. Because evidently, it’s more macho to drink the coffee black or something.

Lou raises her eyebrows. “Wow. Perceptive…” 

“Damn it Lou, even I will notice when someone won’t even look at me. I just don’t understand why…”

Lou seems to think about what to say for a moment and she doesn’t meet Will’s eyes when she speaks. “Hm… well. It’s just… I don’t think it’s something you did, ok. He’s just being a bit uncomfortable around you at the moment, and not handling it too well. Just ignore it and he will come around.” 

“Wow. Aren’t you just an endless source of wisdom?” 

Lou smirks and leans forward for effect. “Some things you’ll just have to figure out yourself, or never know.” 

“Let me guess - fortune cookie?” Will asks.

Lou just sticks out her tongue at him, but he doesn’t press the issue. They talk about school for a while before Will plucks up the courage to turn the discussion serious again.

“I think I may have to break up with Katie…” he says. 

Lou raises her eyebrows. “I think you should pay for my coffee if you expect two sessions of free therapy in one, and a ride home on top of that…” 

“Lou…”

“Sorry. Couldn’t help myself. Go on… you may have to or you want to?” 

He sighs loudly and shrugs. “I don’t want things to change. But she does, evidently, and I don’t know what to do.”

“Are we talking about sex again?” Lou asks.

“Yeah. Sorry. Am I boring you?"

Lou rolls her eyes but looks amused. “No, I was just checking. According to Nico, you seemed to be doing fine on Saturday... “ she says wiggling her eyebrows. 

“Is  _ he _ the one who claims we did it in Travis’s bedroom?” Will says, suddenly offended.

“Well, didn’t you?”

“NO! I mean, not really. It was sort of third base-ish I guess. But that’s the thing, Katie has been talking about wanting to do it soon. And at the party she was kind of pushing me to go further, and you know. Touch. I thought maybe I could make it work if I closed my eyes and, well. Then Nico came in and…”

“Wait, wait, wait… “ Lou interrupts and gives Will an incredulous stare. “Are you seriously fucking telling me that you had to close your eyes and think about something else to get it up when making out with your hot-ass girlfriend?” 

“Schh. Can you keep your voice down? Shit, Lou…” Will says, all but clapping his hands to her mouth. “And it wasn’t like that. You make me sound awful. It was just, she was drunk and really handsy, and I couldn’t keep up.”

“Yeah, but still. You probably shouldn’t tell anyone else about this. Especially not Katie. It’s kind of a slap in the face, you know?” 

Will sighs again. “I guess. But it’s not like I was thinking about someone else. I just wasn’t in the mood.”

“Ok. If you say so.” Lou doesn’t sound convinced. “But I’m telling you, as a friend, you have to sort this out or tell her you don’t want to do it.” 

“Yeah, but I’m scared I will lose her Lou…”

“I get that, but leading her on isn’t a good way to make a relationship work either.” 

Will hates that all his friends are so much more insightful than him sometimes. He thinks about the things Lee and Lou Ellen have advised him, and comes up with a, in his own opinion, brilliant plan to ease into the next step with Katie. He’s going to invite her over to study on Friday night when his mom is working late, and he’s going to create a romantic, relaxed setting, that he’s in control of. And then, he’ll try to seduce her, or whatever, on his own terms. If that doesn’t work, he’s doomed. 

But how do you create a romantic setting without it seeming totally cheesy and presumptuous? Will decides to talk to Cecil as he catches a ride home from school with him the next day. After all, this is stuff you are supposed to be talking to your guy friends about, isn’t it? 

“So, I was thinking…” Will starts.

“Earth shattering news, I’m sure…” Cecil replies.

“Seriously. I need your advice on something, can you not be a dick for one second?” 

“Ok, shoot.”

“So, I asked Katie over to study when my mom’s working late tomorrow…” 

“To  _ Study _ , huh?” Cecil says in a mocking tone, with complementary air quotes and everything. 

Will rolls his eyes. “Yeah… that’s just it. I’m nervous. So help me out here instead of being a jerk.”

“Wait, didn’t you sort of do it at the party though?”

Will sighs in resignation. He hates being the last virgin alive, especially when everyone seems to assume otherwise. “Not really. There was some touching, but we got interrupted and that kind of killed the mood.” 

“Wait, are you telling me you haven’t even gone beyond second base before?” 

“Why am I friends with you?” Will groans and throws his head back on the carseat. 

“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to judge or anything. I guess I’m just surprised, that’s all. You must be like the most patient man in history…” 

“Yeah…” Will says. “The thing is...” 

“What?” Cecil asks.

“Well, can I tell you something in confidence?” 

“Sure”

“No judgement? No laughing?”

“Ok, I’ll do my best.”

“I’m kind of the one holding back.” Will confesses.

Cecil turns and makes a surprised face, but at least he doesn’t laugh. 

Will continues. “I don’t know why, but I’ve just been so nervous about it. There are a lot of expectations and I’m scared I won’t measure up I guess?”

“Will, it’s just sex. It’s not the end of the world!” Cecil advises. “The worst thing that can happen is that you blow your load in two seconds. And let’s face it - that’s probably going to happen anyway the first time. But luckily you’re a healthy teenage guy and you’ll bounce back in no time. And then you’ll laugh about it afterwards. Trust me. I’ve been there.” 

Will looks out the window, not feeling like answering that. Yeah, he wishes that was his biggest problem.

“Will? Are you ok? If it’s something else you’re worried about you know you can talk to me, right? I might be a dick, but I’m your best friend…” 

“Yeah. I know. It’s just… shit. It’s so embarrassing. I hate this...”

Cecil doesn’t comment, just keeps looking at Will as if to say  _ Go on...  _

“The thing is I’ve been having the opposite problem actually. I don’t know if it’s Katie, or… or just… shit. If there’s something wrong with me? But when she tried to give me an HJ at the party I almost didn’t get it up.”

Cecil frowns slightly like he’s trying to think about a logical explanation, but then he shrugs it off. “Oh. Well, it might be that you’re stressed out about it. It can happen if you feel too much pressure, and you’ve been waiting so long…”

“I know. That’s why I want to make sure the atmosphere is right. That it’s romantic, but doesn’t scream ´let’s have sex´, if you know what I mean?” 

In the end, it feels good to talk to Cecil, and he doesn’t laugh. Instead they spend the ride making plans for Will’s big “study night”.

.oOo.

In hindsight, perhaps making plans for a romantic evening wasn’t the best idea Will has ever had. It started out ok, and Will was perfectly comfortable while they were bustling around in the kitchen, being domestic and joking around. As suspected, they gave up on studying rather quickly, and went on to watch a movie and eat popcorn, which was still ok. Then, somewhere around the end of the movie, things started to heat up a bit between them, just like he had planned. But then his plan failed spectacularly. Turns out, setting the pace didn’t actually help much with his reluctance to have sex. And now he’s on the verge of panicking. 

“Ok, what’s wrong Will?” Katie asks.

“Nothing’s wrong. Can we just, like, take it slow?”

“Will… we have been taking it slow for over nine months…” Katie pants, obviously eager to go on.

“Yeah. I’m sorry. I’m just nervous…” he says sheepishly. 

“Just relax,” she comforts him. “We’re all alone, we’re sober, we trust each other… Just lay back and let me take care of you.”

“Ok..” he croaks and leans back on the couch, pulse quickly rising. He closes his eyes and tries to just relax into the feeling of hands and lips travelling down his body. It’s not bad, really. Feels kind of nice? He doesn’t even look up when his jeans are unzipped and his semi hard member is pulled out of his boxers. It’s fine. All is fine. A hand strokes him slowly, more gently this time, and it feels really good. He moans, and the hand speeds up. Suddenly, something warm and wet closes around the tip and his dick twitches and fills. Yeah. This is it. The feeling from his dreams. The thing he has been waiting for. He swallows hard. Fuck, that feels... His head is spinning slightly and his heart is pounding. Images of full pink lips and dark eyes flash before his eyes and the arousal blooms inside him. Wait. Dark eyes? He opens his eyes and sees Katie’s light brown head and blue eyes bobbing up and down. He freezes.  _ All wrong, this is all wrong. Shit, shit, shit. _

“Hey, let me...” he croaks and pushes her off before she notices something is wrong.

Part of him knows he should stop this and just come clean about the way he feels, but he just can’t bring himself to do it. If he can just get Katie off she won’t notice he’s not into it, he reasons, and then he can talk to her later when they aren’t in such a delicate situation. He doesn’t want to hurt Katie, and interrupting their make out session to tell her he doesn’t want to have sex might make her feel like it’s her fault.

Will takes a deep breath and steels himself. He starts kissing her breasts, tongue swirling around her nipples. She seems to love it, but Will is feeling completely suffocated as she pushes his face down into her tits and moans. What’s the deal with tits really? He doesn’t get why all his guy friends seem so fascinated… He continues south instead, kissing her belly. She probably expects him to go down on her, he realizes. He shudders from discomfort. Why does he feel like he’s about to violate his sister..? He closes his eyes again and tries to let his fantasy flow, but he can’t think about a single situation where burying his face between a girl’s legs feels like a natural thing to do. His pulse races, and it isn’t from arousal. What is he going to do? He wants out, but he doesn’t know how to tell Katie. He decides the tits are the lesser evil of the two and goes back to massaging her nipple with his tongue, while pushing his hand down her pants. If he can only get her off… She is soaking wet and writhes under him, making little mewling sounds that he should probably find sexy, but doesn’t in the least. Suddenly, she pulls him up and kisses him deeply.

“Will…” she pants when she comes up for air. “I was thinking… Perhaps we don’t have to wait? What’s another month or two anyway? We could just do it…”

“Are you sure?” Will asks, head spinning with desperate thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m sure. I want to. Do you have a condom?” 

She starts reaching down his boxers again, and he has to steer her hand away before she finds what she’s looking for. Or more like doesn’t find what she’s looking for. Because his dick has deflated like a sad balloon a week after a party, and hangs more or less flaccid between his legs again.

She gives him a confused look. “Will?”

He untangles himself from Katie, pulls his jeans up and sits down on the couch. “I’m sorry,” he says, burying his face in his palm. He rakes a hand through his hair and looks at the ceiling while he tries to think. But there’s no getting away from this conversation. Katie seems to realize something is wrong, and tears have already welled up in her eyes. She doesn’t speak though. And Will guesses it’s only fair that he starts.

“I’m sorry... if I’ve led you on. I just... I wanted this to work so badly, but I can’t have sex with you.” 

She suddenly looks so small, where she sits next to him, her knees drawn up under her chin. Her voice is shaky and fragile when she answers. “Is it about sex or is it about you and me?” 

“I honestly don’t know. There’s no other girl, if that’s what you think. And I love you. I really do. I just… I don’t know if it is in the right way.”

“You mean you’re not attracted to me?” she says plainly.

“I’m sorry. I know I sound like a douchebag. And it’s not about you, you’re great. Hot. Beautiful. I can’t think of a girl I would rather have sex with, but it doesn’t work for me. Maybe I’m asexual or a really late bloomer or something, but I just don’t want to do this.” 

Will bites his lips and gives Katie a nervous look. He feels a bit ashamed about not telling her the whole truth. Because while there is no other girl he has got to start confessing, to himself at least, that there might in fact be a boy… But on the other hand, he didn’t lie either. Not technically.

Finally, Katie sighs and gives him a weak smile. “Ok.” 

“Ok?” he can’t help asking, his heart fluttering with hope. Is it possible that she is ok with this after all? That they can stay friends? 

“Yeah. I mean, I don’t want to push you Will. We don’t have to do it now. I can wait for as long as you need me to. You can decide where your limits are...” 

For a brief moment, he’s flooded with relief. They can go back to the way things were! It will be fine… But then he realizes that no, it won’t. He’s still got that other problem he needs to figure out, and the damage is sort of done. He thinks about what Lee said about trying to be with other people if he wants to be sure. And also, as much as he wants to pretend everything is normal, he can’t do that to Katie. She probably thinks they are talking about waiting a couple of months, but he’s pretty sure he’ll never want to sleep with her, ever. 

“Fuck, Katie… you’ve no idea how much I want to just go back to where we were?” he says, looking up at her from under his hair. 

She gives him a long look, tears welling up again. “But?” 

“I don’t know if I can. Not right now. I think I need some time to figure myself out…”

“Figure yourself out?” 

“Yeah. Even if it’s ok with you to wait, I still feel like I’m broken and I need some space to understand myself, I guess.” 

“So basically, you want to break up so you can try being with other people?” she asks, voice suddenly more angry than sad.

“No. I mean, I don’t know. It wasn’t what I was thinking… but I’m a mess and I don’t think it’s fair to you. You deserve someone who can give you what you want.”

“But I want you…” she says in a small voice, and that’s when Will can’t hold back his own flood of tears. 

“I’m sorry,” he says and wraps her up in his arms.

They sit like that for a while, crying and thinking in silence. At long last, he wipes her tears away and kisses her forehead. “So, do you think it is possible for us to be friends? I’m so scared of losing you…” he asks. 

“I don’t know Will. I guess. With time… I mean, it’s not like I’m going to hate on you now. It’s just. I’m in love with you. I can’t just keep picking you up and driving you to school pretending everything is fine.”

He deflates slightly. “Yeah. I guess. But just so you know, I do love you and I would hate to lose you. I’ll respect if you want space, but if you ever need me or want to hang out, I’ll be here waiting for you.” 

Katie shakes her head in resignation. “Gods Will, why can’t you be a jerk like every other teenage guy who breaks up with his girlfriend. It would be easier if I could just be mad at you, you know.” 

“Sorry, I’ll try to be more of an asshole from now on…” he chuckles, a small smile spreading over his wet cheeks, and Katie gives him a tentative one in return. 

So, things will change. But he still has Cecil, and Lou Ellen and the guys. And perhaps it will be ok with Katie in the end?

By the time his mom comes home, he’s fallen asleep on the couch. She sees his red rimmed eyes and asks him what’s wrong.

“I broke up with Katie,” he says and allows himself to cry over it for the last time. It’s been a while since he was comforted by his mom and it feels kind of nice. She smells of cookies and safety and childhood when he buries his face in the crook of her neck, which is a bit awkward a position since he has like ten inches on her, but still. 

She rocks him almost back to sleep before promising him pancakes for breakfast if he goes to bed. She doesn’t ask questions or spit out any cliches like  _ time heals all wounds _ or some shit, she just lets him be sad. And it’s ok. 

“I love you” he whispers in her ear before he kisses her cheek and goes to bed. 


	13. Nico

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hellooo, I'm back with a new chapter - a bit scared that you'll all hate me after this... At least since I know some of you are thinking the boys can get together and live happily ever after now that Will is single. But think about it for a moment before you behead me - first of all there are 14 chapters left in this story and they would be a bit boring if we got our reward already, don't you think? Also, Will might have felt he couldn't lie to Katie anymore, but we don't want him to use Nico as an experiment when he doesn't even know what he wants himself, right? That wouldn't be the Will we all know and love (at least I do) right? And as an additional point, remember I said in the beginning that the Nico chapters can basically be skipped if you don't care about his character and backstory, which means very little plot advancement actually happens in them. But still some fun stuff, I hope. At least I always have fun writing Nico...
> 
> Also, warning for a very non-explicit sex scene happening... (although if you have survived this far, it won't be the worst you've read)

“Hi Nico, it’s been a while…” 

Nico turns around, surprised to hear that voice. “Dylan, hi. Didn’t know you were coming…” he says.

“Oh, I wouldn’t miss a party at your place. Not when a little birdie told me you’re single again?” He whispers that last part in Nico’s ear so nobody hears.

Dylan is a member of one of his dad’s up and coming boy bands. Nico bets there are a lot of people who would be green with envy if they knew he used to have a fling with the guy. Girls and boys alike. And Nico can’t help it. Even if he’s so used to celebrities he hardly raises an eyebrow at them anymore, and Dylan’s band isn’t really what Nico would call quality music, it’s hard not to feel a bit flattered that he’s still interested. Even if Nico knows it’s only about sex. Also, the main reason for Dylan’s interest in him is probably the fact the opportunity to get laid without the risk of being outed. Because Dylan is supposed to be straight as far as the world is concerned. Apparently they need girls mooning over the members for the band to be successful, which Nico thinks is a heap of bullshit so big they can probably smell it all the way to L.A. from here. But then again, he’s gotten sex out of it with an objectively really hot guy on a number of occasions, so who is he to complain? 

Until approximately five seconds ago, getting laid was the last thing on Nico’s mind. He was totally focused on surviving yet another cocktail party where his dad stubbornly tries to get him to represent the family and suck up to important people. But then he thinks about something Jason said the last time he was heart broken. _The best way to get over someone is to get under someone else. Or over them if you prefer…_ Jay was probably mostly kidding, but still. Nico gives Dylan a calculating look. 

“So, do you want me to show you around? The pool house is pretty cool…” he says. _And empty_ , he thinks.

Unfortunately, Nico realizes pretty quickly that rebound sex isn’t the thing that is going to let him forget his crush on Solace. He doesn’t regret it, exactly - two months celibate are at least two months too many in his opinion. But even if he has yet to receive a blow job that didn’t feel good, he soon finds himself having to close his eyes and think of someone else in order to perform. Guilt washes over him as he desperately wishes that hair was less yellow, and more curly, that those shoulders were a bit broader and had more freckles. And even though pressing into the tight heat of another body feels amazing, he still has to close his eyes and all but hold his breath in an attempt to shut the scent of spicy after shave out. Instead, he imagines Will’s musky smell, mixed with a minty fresh touch that probably comes from some cheap brand of sports shampoo. Fuck, he’s so, so screwed...

Afterwards, he feels more dirty than satisfied and quickly excuses himself with a white lie about having to help his dad. Not that he thinks Dylan wanted to hang around and cuddle, mind. He hides in his room for a bit after fixing his clothes and hair so nobody will notice, but Hazel finds him and drags him downstairs again. It takes him about two minutes to run straight into another problem.

“Nico? Is that you? What are _you_ doing here?” none other than Drew fucking Tanaka exclaims and gives him an incredulous look. “And what are you _wearing_?” 

This is so not his night… Fuck. It’s not his _year_ …

“Clothes,” he deadpans and Drew rolls her eyes.

“I can see that. But that’s a Ralph Lauren cashmere jumper, and a white button down shirt and slacks isn’t exactly your usual style…” 

How do girls notice these things? Nico sighs. “And you’re wearing a cocktail dress,” he counters. “I can’t remember seeing you dressed like that in Calculus either?” 

She waves him away. “Oh, whatever. But how on earth did you get invited to this party? Don’t tell me your parents are here trying to suck up to Mr Hayden to get him to invest in their business too..?”

Nico shrugs, trying to think about a way out of the situation.

“Can you believe my dad actually told me to wear a push-up bra since he’s heard the old perv’s got a weakness for young, pretty brunettes? I mean, what parent does that? I wonder if he would ask me to blow the man if it would seal his shitty deal?” she says, and Nico chokes on air in an attempt to hold his hysterical snickers back. He fails spectacularly. Holy fuck, he’s not sure who got the worst deal when they handed out parents - him or Drew...

“Please don’t say things like that…” he says, wiping away tears with the back of his hand as soon as he manages to stop laughing.

Contrary to Nico’s pleading, Drew is just spurred on by his hysterical outburst. She leans in and wiggles her eyebrows. “You know, I heard he’s got a son our age. I wonder if he’s hot. I could do him, maybe…” 

Nico stops laughing. Drew might be a bit of a bitch sometimes, but he’s got to stop her before she really makes a fool out of herself. 

“Look, Drew…” he starts, but he’s interrupted by the arrival of none other than his stepmother Persephone, dressed to the teeth in some glittery little dress she’s far too old to pull off, sky high stilettos and surrounded by a cloud of perfume so dense it’s almost visible.

“Nico darling…” she says and gives him a would-be-loving fake smile. “Would you mind going down to the wine cellar and fetch a bottle of the good Champagne? Your father wants to make an announcement and I can’t find Jules-Albert. You know I don’t trust the extras down there.”

Nico watches the realization dawn on Drew’s face, turning it into an expression of awestruck horror. He has a hard time holding his laughter back, even if this scenario isn’t exactly what he wished for. He can probably get her to shut up about it anyway. 

“No problem,” he tells Persephone. 

Then he gives Drew a wink. “And thanks for the offer, but you’re still not my type,” he says. 

Because he’s evil…

She stands there, completely dumbfounded, for a couple of seconds before she gets a grip and tears after him, almost tripping on her high heels.

“Nico, wait…” she calls, something almost desperate in her voice as she probably goes through her options. “I’m sorry, I can’t believe I said that about your dad…” 

Nico is surprised to realize she’s almost on the verge of tears, her voice raw and vulnerable. Look at that. The ice queen has got a heart. 

He stops and signals for her to follow down the corridor. “Don’t worry about it, you weren’t wrong exactly…” he says, putting a hand on her arm. “Although Hades has sworn off girls so I don’t think he’ll let you blow him…” he says because fuck, he can’t help himself.

“Oh my God…” Drew says and buries her face in her palms, but when Nico snickers, she just gives him a sour glare. “You call your dad Hades?” she asks instead, eyes wide.

“Everybody does. Even he himself. I mean, his last name is Hayden, he’s married to a woman called Persephone and he’s the ruler of his own little empire of poor lost souls. It’s like somebody just made a spelling mistake on his passport,” Nico says with a shrug. 

Drew looks like she’s trying very hard to catch up with this new reality. “But… your last name is di Angelo?” she asks after a while. 

“It’s my mother's name. I have both on my driver’s license but I prefer to use hers.”

They walk through the wine cellar looking for the right shelf in silence. Nico blows the dust that has apparently already settled from a couple of bottles.

“This will do,” he says finally. “If he wanted one of the really good bottles, he would have been more specific…” 

“So you’re a wine expert now as well?” Drew asks incredulously. 

Nico smiles. “I wouldn’t go as far as to claim to be an expert. But I’ve learned which bottles to avoid stealing if I don’t want to piss dad off too much…” he replies. “I wanted to impress my ex with something nice and bubbly on the night of our Junior Prom, and I accidentally took a vintage bottle of Pol Roger, worth over a thousand dollars. It was hardly the most expensive in dad’s collection, but enough of a rarity to make sure he noticed… And let me tell you, having to wash the cars all summer while Jules Albert was cheering me on was enough motivation to learn a thing or two…” 

Drew still looks shell shocked, “But, I don't understand… Why in the world do you guys go to L.I High if you live up here? It’s not like you couldn’t afford to go to Olympus prep...” she asks.

Nico runs a hand through his hair and leans against the wall, rolling the bottle of Champagne in his hands. It’s not like he’s going to tell her the whole story. But he’s got to give her something… 

“Well, the thing is… Hazel wasn’t raised like this and she wants to go to school with what she calls normal people. I want to play soccer, and I’ve also had my fill of spoiled rich kids for a lifetime. And also, Persephone hates it, which is a bonus…” he explains.

“Oh.” Drew says, looking like she thinks he’s crazy. “But you never talk about… about… your dad or… where you live?” 

Nico smiles a lopsided smile at the way she desperately tries to avoid saying _your money._ “No. And I’d prefer it if you didn’t tell anyone either.”

Drew makes a face like Christmas has been cancelled. Nico knows her type. She feeds off gossip and would give anything to be the one to tell the world about the fact that the children of a famous billionaire goes to their school. 

“I’ll help you put in a good word with dad if you help me, ok?” he offers.

“But… why?” 

“Look. I’ve had some bad luck with people trying to take advantage of me to get to my father, or our money. I’d prefer it if I knew who wants to be friends with me anyway first, ok?” he says. Perhaps he shouldn’t have exposed himself like that to Drew, but he kind of trusts her. Because she’s so easy to read, mostly. Not because she’s necessarily a good person.

“Ok…” Drew says uncertainty. She swallows.“I hope you don’t think I’m one of those, though.”

Nico laughs bitterly. “No Drew. It’s not your type that worries me. I think I know where we stand, and it’s ok. It’s the ones who pretend to like you and date you for six months only to dump you like trash when it still didn’t get them a record deal that I’m trying to avoid…”

Drew gapes. “Auch…”

“My point exactly… Now come on, before they send out a search party.”

His dad is waiting outside of the kitchen when they come up. “Ah, son. There you are. I was starting to worry…”

Then he spots Drew and adds. “Sneaking into the wine cellar with a girl? I would be worried if I didn’t know you’re gay as a one man pride parade…” 

Nico ignores his father's bad sense of humor and decides he can make good on his promise now as well as anytime. “Dad… this is Drew Tanaka, she’s in my Calculus class. And she’s a cheerleader too. Her father has a really interesting business venture I think you’ll want to hear about…” 

.oOo.

An hour later, Nico is sitting on the couch in his room, gossiping with Drew, who’s lying sprawled across his bed, about all the guests downstairs. They have stolen a bottle of wine from the cellar and brought up half the dessert table with them upstairs. It’s actually not too bad, hanging out with Drew. Even if he still thinks she is kind of a bitch, he knows he’s made an ally by introducing their fathers to each other. After talking to her for a bit, he also starts to suspect she’s almost a good person underneath the facade. She’s got a lot to deal with at home, with her mom leaving them and her dad putting a lot of pressure on her. Turns out, she wasn’t lying about her dad insinuating she should try to charm her way into the Hayden family, and he was more than pleased with her when he realized she had made friends with Nico. He can’t help feeling a little sorry for her. 

Nico is just trying to find a way to dodge any questions about Dylan, who Drew naturally has spotted at the party, when the door bangs open and Hazel darts inside, evidently furious with him. Unfortunately, she doesn’t see Drew on the bed before starting to rant.

“Nico di Angelo, you damn slut,” she shouts and that’s when he knows she’s really mad at him. Hazel rarely curses or uses strong words like that. He tries to stop her before she says too much. 

“Hazel….”

“No, you listen to me. Do you ever think before you act, or does your little brain down there do all the planning?” 

“What are you…”

“Do you know dad had cameras put up in the pool house?”

“Shit!” Nico flies off the couch. Oh, fuck, this is not good. If a film with him and Dylan in the pool house leaks, it could be the end of the man’s career. His dad would kill Nico dead and bury him alive. Dig him up and kill him again. 

“I’ve got to erase that recording...” he says urgently. “And we have company if you didn’t notice…” 

“Drew!?” Hazel exclaims.

“Hi…” Drew says with a small wave from Nico’s bed. “So, anyone want to let me in on what happened in the pool house?” 

“No” Nico and Hazel shout at the same time. They share a look before Hazel drops down on the couch and drags Nico with her.

“I already took care of it, but you owe me so big Nico…” she says with a resigned sigh. 

Nico exhales in relief and gives Hazel a tight hug. “You’re the best sister ever. I’ll get you something extraordinary for Christmas...” 

“Get me a promise that I’ll never have to see _that_ again…” she says, wrinkling up her face in a disgusted grimace. 

“Oh, come on. This is so unfair. You know I love gossip…” Drew pouts. 

Hazel turns to her for the first time. “Sorry Drew…” she shrugs. “It would be our heads on a plate if this one leaks, but to summarize, my brother is an idiot. What else is new?” 

Nico gives her an exasperated glare. “Come on Hazel, just because you’re a virgin it doesn’t mean the rest of us have to live celibate until we marry…” He doesn’t think he’s promiscuous, really. He’s slept with three people and never had a one night stand, unless you count a blow job at a party when he was fifteen. And Dylan is the only guy he’s been with without being in a committed relationship. It’s not that bad, right? 

Drew though, doesn’t seem all that interested in Nico’s love life, thank the Gods. She’s suddenly thought of something else. 

“Oh, oh, oh… speaking of virgins. Did you guys hear? Will and Katie broke up!” she exclaims, almost rubbing her hands together in excitement.

Nico freezes. Shit. Fuck. No, that can’t be true, right? He tries to school his features into an expression of nonchalance. “Why? What happened? They seemed to get along fine at homecoming…” he says, picking his nails. 

Hazel gives him a Look. One of those with a capital L. Perhaps he’s overdoing it with the I-don’t-care-attitude?

Drew leans forward to get their attention. “Ok, so don’t spread this...” she starts, evidently unconcerned about doing exactly that herself. “But it’s just so horrible. Poor Katie…” she pauses for dramatic effect. 

“So, they have been dating for almost a year, and Katie has been saving herself for him. He’s been so patient, we all couldn’t believe it. I mean, she’s basically had to force him to even feel her up a bit. ´He respects me´ she always said…” Drew makes a face at this and continues “Just as if our boyfriends don’t because they want sex…” 

Hazel frowns and interrupts her. “Well, I think it’s great if he didn’t want to push her…” Hazel says defiantly.

“Alright, but hear this. Last week at the party, he could hardly get it up for her when she wanted to fool around a bit. She said he was too drunk, but I know for a fact he didn’t drink all night.” Drew says, practically glowing now. 

“So, that’s why they broke up?” Hazel asks.

“No. Yesterday, they were alone at his place. And Katie wanted to finally take things further if you know what I mean. But then he said he didn’t want to have sex with her, and dumped her.” Drew lets out a small excited squeal, but composes herself again. “Poor Katie…” she says, obviously trying very hard not to look happy about this juicy piece of gossip about her friend. 

“Wow… Well, if he didn’t feel like using her for sex if he wasn’t sure, I still think he’s a gentleman.” Hazel insists. Then she gives Drew a stern look. “And you shouldn’t be so excited about this. Isn’t Katie your friend?” 

  
  


Nico lies awake for a long time that night, thinking. Now that Will has broken up with Katie, or the other way around - he doesn't exactly trust Drew - he feels even worse about sleeping with Dylan. Not that it necessarily means anything if Solace didn’t want to have sex with his girlfriend. There could be plenty of other reasons, if Drew’s story is even true. Like, he could be ace. Or he could have met someone else and didn’t want to take advantage? Perhaps he had been planning the break-up all along and propositioning him was her way of trying to rope him into staying? 

But still. What if…?


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Me again with a new chapter! I'm completely swamped with work this week, with a big deadline coming up next week! I'm not complaining you know. I'm grateful every day that I'm one of the lucky ones who can still do my job in these times. I only wanted to offer an explanation to why my updates are a bit less regular at the moment, and why this chapter may be a bit sloppily edited. But I thought I'd rather get it out there, perhaps I'll get back to it later. But I know from experience how annoying it is when you start reading a story and suddenly, the updates just stop coming :D
> 
> Also, minor warning for some angsty stuff. It's not bad, but it's mainly this chapter that earns the "internalized homophobia" tag in this story.

_ Did you hear he broke up with Katie? _

_ I heard he took her virginity at the homecoming party and dumped her. _

_ I heard  _ she _ dumped  _ him _! _

_ I call dibs to comfort him in that case… _

_ No, I heard he cheated on him with a college girl. _

_ So, do you think he will still go to the Halloween party? _

When Will throws his bag on the floor and plops down on a seat at the lunch table he’s already sick and tired of all the rumors and whispers following him around. Katie isn’t at lunch at all today, and Drew and Lacy are sitting with Eric and his friends. Will is secretly glad to have Cecil and Lou Ellen mostly to himself, even though he feels awful for breaking up their friend group. Also, he has to live with being surrounded by some of Lou’s other friends from time to time. Today, it’s Mitchell who is in the GSA with Lou. Will doesn’t really know him well, other than from that he’s pretty sure he used to hang out with Lacy and Drew back in junior high. He seems nice enough though. If Will had had the energy to make new friends he might even have enjoyed the company. Right now, he just wants things to go back to normal. They will, sooner or later, Cecil assured him when he picked Will up this morning.

Another girl walks by and gives Will a Look, whispering something to her friend.

He groans and bangs his head on the table. “Don’t people have better things to talk about…” 

“I don’t know. You being caught in a threesome with two college girls  _ would _ be the most interesting thing I’ve heard about in a long while…” Lou Ellen snickers. “If only it were true…” she says and heaves a dramatic sigh. Will flips her off without even lifting his head from the table. 

“Yeah, I hear you have been pretty busy lately Solace. All those virgins you have had to deflower. Must be a hard life…” 

Will’s heart jumps a little as he hears Nico’s voice and the scraping of chairs next to him. When he looks up, Nico and Hazel have joined them.

“Not you too…” he complains, but he drags himself up and sits in his chair like a normal person. 

“I’m just a bit offended that the rumors always are about the big bad macho boy cheating on the girl. Or him sleeping with her and dumping her. Why do people still have such archaic views on gender and sex?” Lou Ellen asks. 

“Yeah. Perhaps we should start a rumor that she took  _ his _ virginity and dumped him...“ Mitchell weighs in. Will glares at him. He may have to change his opinion about the guy if he’s going to team up with Lou like this...

“Yes please. Why don’t you guys use my failed relationship to make a political statement. That’s just what I was hoping for…” Will says sourly.

Lou just smirks and goes on. “But it’s true, you know. These people have no idea what happened between the two of you. Where’s the rumour saying she seduced the whole soccer team behind your back?” 

“Oh, leave me out of any orgies, please…” Nico says.

“Because in the world we live in, seducing college girls makes Will look cool, whereas Katie cheating would make her look like a slut,” Hazel says, ignoring her brother.

“Exactly my point! That’s so unfair!” Lou exclaims, and the two of them are off on a tirade about the patriarchy and the need for a more educated discussion about the female sexuality, occasionally joined by Mitchell who evidently seems to know all about the topic.

Nico just shrugs when Cecil and Will exchange a glance. “They’ve got a point…” he says.

And that’s just the thing. Will does agree. And isn’t this old fashioned view of gender roles the whole reason for his existential crisis? So why is he not man enough to fess up? 

“So, Solace…” Nico interrupts the girl’s debate, once again giving Will the eerie feeling the can read minds. “Why  _ did _ the most famous Power Couple of Long Island High break up?”

Lou Ellen looks at Will with interest, he can see the challenge in her eyes. He loves Lou, but right now, he could punch her for making his existential crisis into a pawn that suits her agenda.

“Yeah, why did you?” Lou smirks.

“Screw you, Lou…” 

“Don’t talk to my girlfriend like that mate…” Cecil says and flips a pea at him. 

“I can fight my own battles, thank you very much,” Lou says. 

Will glances around the lunchroom and at the expectant faces at his table. He both wants and doesn’t want Nico to know. And he feels bad for being such a coward. Apart from Mitchel perhaps, these people are supposed to be his friends. At least, he very much wants them to be his friends. And if he opens up, perhaps that will bring him closer to Nico and Hazel?

“Look…” he says, voice low. “I don’t want you to go start any new rumors. Especially none that will make Katie look bad…” he starts but Lou scoffs.

“No, Lou. You know how people are. And as much as you want to save the world from the evil patriarchy, it’s not ok to use other people as pawns without their consent.”

“Fair enough…” Lou says.

Mitchell nods knowingly, like this is something they have talked about before. “He’s got a point you know Lou…” he says, putting him right back onto Will’s nice list.

“So please don’t spread this, but Lou was sort of right,” Will says, giving them all a stern look. “Katie wanted to take it to the next level, I didn’t. And I don’t care about any stupid macho reputation, but I know Katie is terrified of being called names for taking initiative…” 

“Auch….” Hazel says. “Poor Katie. I mean, not that you should do stuff you don’t want to, obviously, but I’d hate being rejected like that…”

“Yeah…” Will sighs, feeling even more like a jerk than before.

Nico says nothing, but gives Will curious glances. Whatever he expected Will to say, it obviously wasn’t this. 

“It’s kind of unfair though, in the other direction? If a guy had broken up with his girlfriend because she didn’t want sex, we’d say he’s a jerk. But now we’re just feeling sorry for her.” Mitchell speculates.

Lou gives Will another look, urging him to come clean. He sighs. “Yeah, but she wasn’t the one to end things, so… She was the perfect gentlewoman and said she could wait, I promise. But I didn’t want to make her false promises when I’m not sure I’ll ever feel like that about her.” 

Much to Will’s relief, the lunch break is coming to an end after that. As awkward as it was, he’s still relieved to have it off his chest. Cecil and Lou sort of knew already, of course, having had to listen to him whine about it over the weekend. But he’s glad it seems like it has brought him back into Nico’s good graces. 

Over the next couple of days, he and Hazel sit with them almost all the time at lunch and after practice on Thursday, they even offer him a ride home since Cecil is off to meet Lou and Connor is sick. 

They make their way toward a sleek, black European car of some kind. It’s not ostentatious or anything, but even if Will knows approximately nothing about cars, he can tell it’s a newer model, and probably pretty expensive. Evidently, Hazel is driving and Nico jumps in shotgun, but there’s plenty of space in the backseat. Not like being crammed into Lou’s old Volkswagen. The engine doesn’t make a single sound as Hazel checks the rear view mirror and backs out of the parking lot smoothly.

“Woha, is it electric?” Will asks.

“It’s a plug-in hybrid…” Hazel answers. “I wanted an electric, but dad was worried about charging it at school… Not that we would ever have needed to, mind.” she sighs.

“Hazel is such and environmentalist sometimes…” Nico offers as an explanation.

“It’s yours?” Will asks her incredulously. Most of the kids in the area share cars with their families, or have older ones, like Lou’s Beetle or Connor’s old pick-up. 

“Yeah. Sort of…” she shrugs. “I share with Nico, but he never drives it.”

“Why not?” 

“He’s too lazy if it’s the two of us, and if he’s alone he takes his bike. Or calls Jules...” Hazel says, sounding amused.

“Shut it, you…” Nico mutters.

“Who’s Jules?” Will asks curiously, and hopes the answer isn’t “college boyfriend” or something.

“Jules Albert is our…” Hazel starts but Nico interrupts her.

“He’s one of dad’s colleagues. He’s helped me out of a snag a couple of times; thus the ridicule.” 

The siblings engage in some kind of silent conversation in the front seat, but Hazel doesn’t comment. Instead, Will tries to imagine Nico on a bike. It’s hard. 

“Well, if you’re too lazy, wouldn’t it be easier to take the car than the bike?” he asks curiously. 

Hazel and Nico share a look and burst out laughing. “Oh Gods, Nico on a mountain bike. I can see it now… and it’s a beautiful sight.” Hazel says.

Will looks confused until Nico assures him he would do no such thing. She was referring to his  _ motorcycle _ , naturally.

Naturally. That’s just a thing everybody has sitting at home on the driveway while they ride with their sister in her electric car. Shit... He’s never even stopped to think twice about Nico’s social status or where they actually live. Nico doesn’t make the impression of being loaded, exactly, with his faded band t-shirts and ripped jeans. And Hazel doesn’t prance around in designer clothes either, even if she’s more well dressed than him. He wants to ask them what their parents do for a living, but he doesn’t want to seem too nosy so he drops the subject. 

“So, where do you guys live?” he asks instead. It’s an innocent enough question, really. And not a weird one since they are giving him a ride home. 

They exchange a glance again, but Nico is the one to answer. “Oh, a bit further up north, on the outskirts… Hard to explain really. I’ll show you someday…” he says and a faint blush creeps up his neck. Will doesn’t know if it’s because Nico is ashamed of where he lives or because he just practically invited Will over… 

There are no particularly wealthy areas in the northern parts of their town, as far as he knows. Sure, way up north, on the other side of the highway by the coast, lies Olympus Cove, where the rich and famous live. But their kids don’t go to school down here; they have their own private school full of trust fund brats and celebrity kids. It would be laughable to imagine Nico and Hazel up there, sitting at each end of a long dining room table in some huge mansion with marble floors. No, he’s missing something here. But he doesn’t want to pry. He’ll find out someday, if they stay friends. 

_ Or more... _ his unhelpful brain supplies.

.oOo.

That weekend, Will’s mom has to go away to a conference for work. She’s worried he will have a party, but he assures her he isn’t exactly in the mood for that right now, with their whole friend group falling apart. Not that he and Katie are unfriendly towards each other or anything, but she still doesn’t sit with him at lunch, unless they are at a very long table and he’s at least three seats away. He’s got Connor, Lou and Cecil, and more often than not Nico and Hazel and a couple of Lou’s friends too so it’s not like he’s alone. Surprisingly, Drew seems to be the one to glue their clique together, by suddenly trying to be best friends with Nico and thus merging the two subgroups that have formed. Will is at a complete loss as to what her motive is, but he’s sure she has one. 

Instead of throwing a party, he plans to spend Saturday night playing video games with Cecil and Lou, but then Lee sends him a text inviting him over. They are having a party in their dorm, and there’s a couch where Will can sleep if he wants to stay the night. He feels bad about not telling his mom about his change of plans, but he knows she would never have let him go. And it’s not like he’s lying or anything. He’s just omitting a bit of information, that’s all. It’s the perfect opportunity to get to know Lee, see more of life at Columbia and perhaps, maybe, although highly impossible, he might get the chance to put some of Lee’s and Lou Ellen’s theories to the test.

Cecil and Lou encourage him to go to Lee’s, almost to the point where he has to suspect they are trying to get rid of him…. 

“Come on, you have to get out there and live a little,” Lou says when they have dropped Cecil off after school one day. 

“Yeah… You know, Lee thinks I should try to fool around a bit with... different people...to see if I get a reaction?”

“What do you mean? Like different - how?”

“Like… both guys and girls.” 

“Yes! I knew it!”

“You know nothing, Lou. Even I don’t… But Lee says I can’t know for sure unless I try.” 

“Words of wisdom my friend. Couldn't have said it better myself,” she says. “Just make sure you use protection.”

“Lou!” he exclaims. “I was talking about kissing. Flirting. Perhaps making out a bit. I’m not going to sleep around just to test some stupid theory! Besides, I just broke up with Katie, it’s not like I’m looking for something new.” Also, he thinks to himself, if he was looking for something new, there might already be someone on his mind...

Lou sighs and gives him a look like he’s the most boring person she knows. “I know Will. But that’s what makes it so perfect. You’ll never have to meet most of these people again if you don’t want to, so no harm done if you screw up…” 

.oOo.

_ No harm done… _ Will tries to remember Lou’s words as he gets ready for the party with Lee. He wishes he could just stay in Lee’s room and play Mario Kart with his brother all weekend instead of having to go to a party with a bunch of older people he doesn’t know. What if Lee just leaves him alone and nobody wants to talk to the awkward high school guy? He tries to pep talk himself out of his nervousness.  _ You can do this Will _ .  _ Worst case scenario, you’ll sit alone in a corner all evening watching people. It’s not the end of the world... _

As it turns out, It’s not a big party and Lee’s friends are all very nice and welcoming. A little too nice, almost. Something is obviously going on here… Now, Will knows that he doesn’t look bad, exactly. He’s never had trouble attracting the attention of girls at school. But he’s also pretty sure he’s not hot enough to be of much interest to older women, so why are several of them quite obviously flirting with him?

“Wow, you didn’t tell me your brother was hot, Lee, are you sure he’s just seventeen?” a girl with wild, red curls falling down her back, says and gives him an appreciative once over. Will instantly confirms he is, in fact, just that by blushing like a ripe tomato and stuttering something stupid about almost being eighteen. But the girl, who introduces herself as Bea, just snickers and takes his hand, offering to show him around. He gets the nasty suspicion he’s part of a bad teenage movie and is about to be introduced to a coven of hungry vampires. He gives his brother a panicked look, but Lee just winks at him as he sets off to flirt with Allison, the art student he has been chasing after. 

Bea does not, however, make any attempts to drink his blood. Instead, she manages to rope Will into some kind of “peer pong with twist” that they have invented. The twist seems to be that he ends up drinking no matter what he does and he’s feeling more than a little buzzed an hour or so into the party. He loses some of his shyness with the increasing intake of alcohol as well, and finds it almost amusing the way Bea and her friends keep flirting with him. He doesn’t know what the hell Lee told people about him, but it must be something good, because he doesn’t think for a second that it’s his charms alone that suddenly make older girls throw themselves at him like this. To his disappointment though, he doesn’t find any of them particularly attractive. Or, objectively he does see that they are all beautiful girls… with rather tight clothes. He knows most of the guys on his soccer team would drool openly by now, and he hates himself for not feeling it. 

He makes some lame excuse and leaves the game to go look for Lee. He’s sitting around a table with Allison and a couple of other people, drinking and laughing.

“Tired of beer pong already?” he smirks as Will slides into an empty seat next to him. 

Will gives him what he hopes is a stern look. “What the hell did you tell people about me?” 

“Don’t worry. Just the truth...” Lee snickers. “Let’s just say they think you’re adorable and they all want to be the one to make a man out of you…” 

“Oh my goodness, just kill me now… this is so embarrassing.” Will groans, but Lee just smiles. 

“Don’t worry.” Allison pitches in. “I can assure you it’s nothing bad. They are just a bit tired of all the macho alpha males around here and think hanging out with an innocent but handsome young man like yourself is refreshing…”

“Hey, you’re not flirting with my brother too, are you?” Lee says, and makes an offended face, but she just rolls her eyes at him. 

The guy sitting next to Allison clears his throat and shoots Will a smile. “So, any chance you’d be curious to try out for the other team? I mean, I’d definitely volunteer to make a man out of you…”

Will is suddenly very aware of the pounding of his heart and his cheeks are burning. He gives the guy a quick glance, without being too obvious. Hopefully. He’s cute, sort of, with a mischievous glint in his warm brown eyes and his sandy blond hair artfully styled into a tousled quiff on top of his head. 

“Jake, don’t you have a boyfriend already?” Allison asks, frowning. 

“Yes, but look at him…” Jake says, throwing out an arm in Will’s general direction. “He’s a younger, super hot, sweet and innocent virgin. It would definitely be worth playing a free card to help him out of his misery…”

“A free card?” 

“Sure. You know? Where you’ve each got three, you know? Like, for one night only, if you’ve got a shot at a celebrity or some other extremely fuckable complete stranger, and tell your partner all about it later? No?”

Lee laughs at Allison's horrified expression and Will just groans again, trying to hide his face in his folded arms on the table. The problem with being 6 ft 2 is that it’s hard to just sink down on a chair and disappear… Being sacrificed to a vampire coven suddenly seems like a better idea than staying at this party. He’s probably never been so embarrassed in his life. And also, a bit excited. Like, a cute guy thinks he’s fuckable… that’s got to be a good thing, right? If he turns out to be gay, it definitely is. And if not, still no harm done, like Cecil said. Not that he’s thinking of taking Jake up on his offer, obviously. He still doubts sex with guys is his thing, and the man probably wasn’t even serious anyway. 

“Stop intimidating my poor brother…” Lee snickers, throwing a balled up paper napkin at Jake. “He’s never even kissed a guy before, and you’re going to scare him into never wanting to give it a shot…” 

“So, you’re saying he’s curious but has never tried kissing a boy? Well, that can be helped at least...!” Jake says, his eyes sparkling with amusement.

Will still wants to die a little bit, but can’t help his interest perking up. This would be as safe as it gets… Nobody from school would know, he wouldn’t be leading anybody on, or risk getting into something he can’t get out of… And the guy is cute enough, right? If he’s awkward kissing him, he’s probably not gay, he reasons. Almost too good an opportunity to be true.

And then, it hits him that Lee probably has stage directed the whole thing. Fuck, he’d bet his friends have rehearsed lines beforehand... He’s soooo owned. His drunk brain can’t be bothered to care too much about it though - an opportunity is an opportunity, and it would probably be rude not to take advantage now that his brother has gone through all this trouble...

“Still got a boyfriend…” Allison mutters.

Jake sighs impatiently. “Oh, come on. It’s for a good cause… I can guarantee you Alex would be thrilled if I could help a young, cute, guy over to the queer side of the street. In fact, I’d let you film it and send him…” 

“Do I get a say in this at all?” Will asks, with an attempt on cool sarcasm, but it comes out more like a croak. 

“Of course, handsome, I’m very big on consent…” Jake replies, but gets up from his chair and glides around the table to sit on the edge of it right in front of Will. “But I promise you, you won’t regret it…” he says in a seductive voice, and gives Will a wink. 

Will’s eyes widen slightly and his gaze flicks briefly to Jake’s lips. The heat pooling in the pit of his stomach isn’t just embarrassment. It’s more a mix of excitement, shame of feeling said excitement, and fear that this little charade will, in fact, confirm his worst suspicions. But he can’t say no because he’s not a coward, right? And Lee has gone through all the trouble, he reminds himself. Also, the reasons not to do it seem to drift further and further away and the excitement wins out. He gives Jake a shy, lopsided smile and shrugs. 

“I knew there was a God! And she loves me!” Jake exclaims, before skillfully sliding down from the table, straddling Will where he sits in his chair. He swallows hard and tries not to think about the curious audience around the table, including Lee smirking and one of their other friends wolf whistling. 

Jake is not a big guy, by any standards, but still much heavier than Katie was. There’s also the sharpness where he’s used to curves, the hardness of the other man’s chest and the way he smells of something musky and minty, instead of flowers. All in all, it’s a completely different feeling than having a girl on his lap. But not necessarily in a bad way, Will realizes. There’s something thrilling and sexy about the hard edges and firm hands wrapping around his neck as Jake looks him in the eyes and leans in to close the distance between them. Will draws a shaky breath and tries not to panic from how hard his heart is thumping. The lips pressing against his are firm and a bit chapped. The kiss starts out chaste, but pretty soon Will can feel the slight swipe of a warm tongue against his lips and he opens them slightly. Jake’s tongue is demanding and firm as it explores his mouth and his hands have a firm grip in Will’s hair. It’s not fireworks and explosions, and it’s not the familiar comfort of kissing Katie, but it’s far from uncomfortable either. In fact, when Jake shifts slightly to rub against Will’s groin he feels a small, but very obvious flicker of arousal lightening up in the pit of his stomach, and his dick twitches with interest. 

“Okaaay…” Alison exclaims, knocking Jake on the shoulder. “I think that’s enough for now, or your boyfriend will have my head later.” 

“Killjoy…” Jake pouts, but he’s got a satisfied smirk on his lips as he climbs off Will’s lap and gives him one last wink. “So, what’s your verdict young man?” he says as he slides back into his own seat. “On a scale from one to ten, how good was I…?” 

Will makes a thinking face, and tries to sound cool as he nods and says “Hm, not bad actually…” 

He fights the urge to adjust himself in his jeans. 

Fuck. 

In a last, desperate attempt to convince himself he might at least be bisexual or pan or something, he makes out with at least two different girls later that night. It might have been three, but he’s more wasted than he’s ever been before, and he thinks the third girl he kissed might actually have been the same one as the first. Anyway. None of them manages to spark any particular interest from his libido, although it might be because he’s too drunk for it to register what the hell he’s doing. 

Secretly, he knows it’s a feeble attempt at repression. He’s doomed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the comments and kudos people! It really keeps me going :) Now, I have an issue! The next chapter is one of the few that isn't finished yet, and I have a hellish week at work. So, what do I do? Do I post a too short chapter I'm not totally happy with or do I let you wait...? I probably won't have time to really work on it before Sunday, and then editing, which means it would be out on Monday or Tuesday if I'm going to give it the attention it probably needs... Well, let me know if you have suggestions :)
> 
> Now I'd better get back to writing the stuff people actually pay me to write, lol...
> 
> Stay safe out there!


	15. Nico

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! First of all, a big thank you to everyone who has commented and encouraged me to finish this chapter. Now, sadly my workload got the better off me this week, which means this is both late and a bit shorter than I intended. I had planned for another scene, but it wasn't an important one and I don't want to let the fic sit for ages just because of it. At least I've put in a bit of an effort to edit the thing. 
> 
> And the next chapter is more or less finished, it just needs a quick edit and it will hopefully be up after my work deadline on Friday! (Yay, I'll have my life back soon...)

“Hey, Nico…” 

“What, Hazel?” 

“Can I ask you something?” 

Nico sighs and fights down the urge to say  _ Didn’t you just…?  _ He knows that whatever it is his sister wants to interrogate him about, it can’t be good or she wouldn’t have stalled like this. “Sure,” he says instead, because he’s generous like that. He presses paus on the controller and looks at expectantly at his sister. He won’t be able to focus on the upcoming boss fight with her hanging over his shoulder anyway. She frowns and looks at the screen.

“Haven’t you even finished the elephant thing yet?” she asks, smirking.

He glares at her for good measure. He knows he’s put in way more hours into this stupid game than Hazel and she’s much further along. But she’s got a totally different strategy, ok? He’s done all the side quests and killed every monster he’s come across whereas she usually sneaks past the baddies if she can and gets on with the main quest. Not that she isn’t a mean fighter when she faces the ones she can’t sneak past, but still. If they were counting kills Nico would win easily. Ha. 

“I got stuck trying to get passed that damn Lynel on the mountain… that thing is fucking impossible to kill…”

“I think you’re just supposed to avoid him for now…?”

Nico grumbles something inaudible. He bets there would be tonnes of cool loot if he managed to take that bastard down. He’s pretty sure he could do it with a better sword. Anyway… He highly doubts Hazel came in here to interrogate him about Breath of the Wild.

“So, was that what you wanted to ask me?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

Hazel tears her eyes away from the screen and gives Nico a completely different kind of look. “No. So, Tyler sent me a text and asked if I know if you’ve met someone…” she says.

Shit. That was just exactly what he didn’t need. He knows where this is coming from. Tyler has been on about visiting over Thanksgiving for weeks and Nico has been stalling, refusing to give him an answer. It’s not that he doesn’t want to see his ex boyfriend. He wants them to be friends and if his family has decided to go on a trip to New York, it’s probably not weird that he wants to meet up. Perhaps watch Nico play soccer… Take him out to a museum? Or some nice restaurant? The problem is that when he talks about it, it sounds more like a date than two friends hanging out. Which means Tyler hasn’t given up on Nico yet, and now he’s taken to pestering Hazel about it. Nico will have no choice but to call Tyler back and make something up. He lets out a heavy sigh and gives Hazel a calculating look. He hopes he will be able to dodge the question, but no such luck.

Hazel sits down on the couch next to him and starts rummaging through his half eaten bag of sweets until she finds the last piece of liqurice and pops it into her mouth. “So, have you?” she insists nonchalantly.

Nico huffs out a breath. He really, really doesn’t feel like discussing his non-existent love life at the moment. Also, he wants to get this entire conversation over with and get back to his game. “You know I haven’t… or do you think I would hide something like that from you?” he asks, an accusing note in his voice. 

Hazel crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow. “You had sex with Dylan…” 

“That’s different. There’s nothing between us anymore, but I hadn’t gotten any for months and I was horny. So sue me. Just because you are Mother Teresa…”

His sister gives him a disapproving look, but doesn’t reply. 

Nico flops down on the couch, drawing his knees up and tucking his feet under Hazels legs. Might as well make himself physically comfortable, since this is probably going to be painful enough mentally. “Besides, Tyler and I broke up,” he says, a tad defensively. “For that exact reason, mind. I don’t think for a second he’s not been screwing around if he’s had the chance…”

“So why don’t you want to see him? You said you wanted for you guys to be friends…” 

Nico sighs. Typical Hazel to put him on the spot like that. How’s he going to explain this?

“Look,” he says, settling for half the truth. “I want us to be friends, but he clearly wants more. I don’t want things to be awkward if he comes here expecting something he’s not going to get…”

“So, why don’t you just tell him you don’t want to date him?” 

Nico raises his head a bit to give her a tired glare. “Have you ever tried denying Tyler anything he wanted?” 

“Point…” she says, nodding. 

And just when he thinks he’s been let off the hook she adds; “This wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with a certain soccer captain with golden curls then?” 

_ Fuck... _

He is quiet for just a bit too long, before trying to play his silence off as him being innocently incredulous. “What? Why would it…” he starts, but Hazel just rolls her eyes and holds up a hand.

“Don’t Nico. I’ve seen the way you’re looking at him when you think nobody sees. And you were ever so interested in his break up with Katie. Interested enough to pressure him about it although Drew basically had told you the whole story already. And you’ve been much friendlier towards him since he’s single, offering to give him rides home and…”

“Hazel, please… So, I may think he’s hot, ok? But we’re friends and he didn’t need a ride home before… and…”

Hazel snickers. “Come on Nico, I’m just teasing. But seriously, I don’t want you to get hurt…” 

“Fuck off…” he grumbles, burying himself under one of Persephone’s fancy flower patterned throw pillows.

“Language Nico…” she complains. 

“You sound like dad…” 

“Do not.” 

Their bickering turns into a wild pillow fight, which Nico loses because Hazel is a mean bastard. But he loves her. Especially when she stays and helps him kill off Waterblight Ganon. Not that he needed help, mind, that was probably the lamest boss fight in a Zelda game since Twilight Princess. Hazel truly is the best sister ever. He feels a little guilty about thinking that, but Bianca will always be his first sister, and it’s not his fault she left them for the army, never to look back. 

After ignoring the topic of Will Solace for a good hour while being crushed by Hazel in Mario Kart, he reluctantly confesses to Hazel that he might have a bit of a crush on his soccer captain after all. Just a tiny one. Ok, a huge and embarrassing one. But he assures her he has it under control. No expectations and all that. 

The truth is not so simple. In fact, he found himself disappointed when Will confirmed that he broke up with his girlfriend because she wanted more and he didn’t feel that way about her. Without even knowing it, he had started to hope that perhaps, just maybe, there was a tiny chance Will’s reluctance to sleep with his girlfriend was because of something else. Be as it may, he still finds it much easier to be around his crush when he doesn’t have a pretty girlfriend hanging off his arm most of the time. Not that he was jealous before, but…  Oh, hell. Who is he kidding, he was jealous as fuck. All the time.

.oOo.

By Tuesday lunch, Nico regrets thinking that Hazel is the best sister ever. In fact, he’s considering looking into the possibilities of getting her disowned. Not only does she give him knowing looks every time he even gets within six feet of Will, which seems to happen more often than he can really explain lately. Now, she has somehow managed to convince him to agree to come to the Halloween party the cheerleaders are throwing this weekend. Or, at least it’s all her fault...

Drew has been trying to convince him to go for weeks now, but Nico has skillfully dodged the issue so far. Until today, that is, when Hazel joined them for lunch. Drew started talking about the party and how they had come up with the idea to have a retro-Halloween theme. 

“It’s going to be hilarious, everybody dressed up in whatever costume they wore the last time they went trick-or-treating as kids...” Drew explained animatedly. Nico couldn’t help to notice the way Will’s face perked up with interest at this, probably relieved he can be as dorky as he wants to be without anybody giving him a hard time. 

“Oh, that sounds like fun. I love costume parties” Hazel said, drawing everybody’s attention.

“You’ve got to come then,” Drew said and gave her a sweet smile. Lacy glared at Drew, like she just did something horrible. “Ok, so I know we said only seniors except team members, but you could come as a plus one of one of the players… Both the soccer team and the lacrosse team are invited, of course,” Drew added quickly.

Nico knows what that was all about, naturally, and while he’s glad Drew hasn’t told them about their dad or their money, it’s also a bit awkward sometimes. And hard to explain why Drew suddenly wants to be their best friend. 

Hazel didn’t seem to care about Drew’s apparent attempt to suck up to her though. “Sweet, I can be Nico’s plus one, then,” she smiled triumphantly.

“Who said I was going?” Nico mumbled.

Hazel gave him an evil smile. “Of course you are, or I’ll send them actual pictures of you as a kid dressed up as you-know-what on that Halloween when you were nine…” 

Nico groaned and seriously considered murdering his baby sister in her sleep. He knows exactly which pictures she was talking about and they are never seeing the light of day if he’s got any say in the matter. 

“Yes, you’ve got to come Nico, you’re going to like it I promise. We even have a pool house…” Drew said and gave Nico a wink. Nico tried to give her his best glare to scare her off, but somewhere between Drew’s implied reference to the last party they were at, Hazel’s puppy eyes and Will’s hopeful look his willpower crumbled and he just rolled his eyes and shrugged. And naturally, they all took it as a promise.

“Good, that’s settled then,” Drew grinned. 

She is a bit of a bitch sometimes, but Nico also can’t help thinking that it’s kind of refreshing. And a little bit funny. If it wasn’t for the fact that she somehow just tricked him into accepting to go to a costume party. And knowing her and Hazel, he won’t get away with doing a Wednesday Addams and claiming he is dressed up like a homicidal maniac - who looks just like everybody else… He will have to embarrass himself. Yup. 

The only silver lining is that he noticed Solace’s face kind of lighted up as Nico confirmed he’s going… He knows Will just wants to be his friend, and hoping for something more will just lead to bitter disappointment when he meets his next girlfriend, but still. Just the fact that this perfect human being wants Nico around is a small miracle in itself, and friends is better than nothing anyway. Now, if he can just make sure annoying Kevin doesn’t get invited to the party, perhaps it won’t be so bad after all? And then he can perhaps let Hazel live, which would be nice. He will need her help to defeat Thunderblight Ganon after all - he’s heard that guy is a real jerk. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I'm sorry for geeking out a bit on Breath of the Wild there, but it's my favorite game of all times (I've been waiting for a worthy Zelda-sequel since Ocharina of Time) and I'm just so depressed that I've finished it :( Also, I totally burned my dinner during the Thunderblight Ganon boss fight, it took me ages, he he


	16. Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, so I handed in my report! Yay! I'm celebrating by posting this really long chapter, and one I'm quite excited about myself ;) I'm probably too tired though, might have to go back and spell check it later ;)

“I think I’m attracted to guys…” 

“What?” Cecil splutters, sending half a mouthful of fries flying across the table. 

“Although, definitely not to you…” Will adds with a disgusted face, trying to save his sandwich from being hit by half-chewed potatoes. He glances around the almost empty diner where they have stopped for a quick snack after today’s soccer practice, but none of the other three guests seem to notice the two teenage boys sitting in a corner of the dimly lit room. Usually, Will would rather starve than eat at a disgusting place like this. The whole restaurant reeks of rancid frying oil and every surface is covered with a thin layer of grease. But Cecil likes the place for some extremely odd reason and Will needed somewhere they would be left alone for this conversation. He takes a small sip from his smoothie and frowns. It tastes suspiciously artificial, but it was the only thing on the menu that had even a small chance of containing at least traces of actual nutrients.

Cecil gives him a sheepish grin. “Sorry. Didn’t see that coming… When you said you had something you wanted to talk to me about, I thought you got laid at that dorm party or something...” he says.

Suddenly, his eyes go wide with shock. “Oh, you didn’t? Have sex with a guy at the party?” 

“What? No. Fuck’s sake Cecil... I kissed one though.”

“Oh. So? What? You kissed a guy and now you think you’re bisexual? Damn, you’ve spent too much time with Lou Ellen. She thinks everyone is queer...”

Will heaves an exasperated sigh. He knows Cecil doesn’t mean to sound like a bigoted asshole; he’s probably just surprised. But he would have hoped for this to be easier. 

“Actually, I think I might be gay.” Will confesses with a shrug and takes another sip from his would-be smoothie. 

Cecil gives him a long, piercing look. “Are you sure you’re not just panicking because it didn’t work with Katie? I mean, just because you didn’t want to sleep with her you don’t have to be gay? Or have you always been attracted to guys?”

“No, but the thing is. It wasn’t just that I’m not ready.” Will says. He thinks about how to best explain. “I loved her, but kissing her did nothing to my libido if you get me? And I don’t think I’ve ever been aroused from looking at a girl or kissing a girl. At first I thought I was ace or demi or something. And I still don’t think I’m the kind of person who could just sleep with a stranger…but I’ve realized that the idea of being with a guy is far less repulsive than being with a girl. Even sort of exciting, actually.” 

“Wow. Well, describing sex with girls as repulsive is kind of… yeah. That’s kind of a gay thing to say.” Cecil nods thoughtfully. 

Will rolls his eyes, but can’t help feeling a little bit lighter again. 

“So, who is it?” Cecil asks.

Will frowns. “Who is what?” 

His best friend gives him a knowing, very smug, grin. “Come on, someone must have made you come to this realization, and from what you say, I don’t think it was a random guy at a party.”

Will’s cheeks heat dangerously again. “I hate you…”

“Of course you do. So, tell me. Although I might have my suspicions now that I think about it.” 

“Sure you do…” Will grumbles, but he’s got a horrible feeling he might not have been as discreet as he thinks over the last couple of days. Ever since the party, he’s been unable to stop staring at guys, trying to think about who he finds attractive and not. And it’s pretty obvious, even to his oblivious self, that there’s one guy he can’t stop obsessing over.

“Well,” Cecil says with a smirk. “You did run into a goal post when di Angelo took off his shirt to turn it inside out today at practice…” 

Will closes his eyes shut and scrunches up his face into a pained grimace. “Ok, so he’s pretty hot. Yeah. But for the love of all that’s holy, if you ever tell anyone I said that I’ll kill you.” 

“Not even Lou?” 

“Especially not Lou. She’ll tease me to death and force me to come out…” 

Cecil shrugs, finishes up the rest of his two-thousand-calories burger and tries to slurp up the last of his soda, hiding among the ice cubes in the paper cup. Will shudders at the thought of where those ice cubes have been...

It’s clear that Cecil isn’t the least bit concerned about the questionable hygiene with ice cubes, nor does he have a problem with polishing off two day’s worth of calories and enough sugar to make a whole kindergarten class bounce for hours, but without even a trace of fibre or vitamins. “ Don’t you think you should, though?” he asks instead.

Will sighs. “Come out or tell Lou? I’m definitely not telling Nico I think he’s hot…” 

“Both. I mean, what are you going to do? Spend your life in the closet using a bunch of unknowing girls as beards?” 

“Of course not.” Will snaps. “But I have to figure it out myself first, ok? I’m not even sure what I am. And I can’t come out until I’m in college anyway.”

“Why?” Cecil asks, but he catches up at once. “Oh, the scholarship. Yeah… that might be a problem.” he says. 

They sit in silence for a while before Will asks the question that has been nagging at him. 

“You’re ok with this though, right?” 

Cecil raises his eyebrows. “Sure, I mean, it’s a bit of a surprise. And it’s a shame that we can’t watch porn together anymore, because I’m not watching guys fucking even if you pay me…”

Will laughs and throws a stray fry at his best friend. “Fuck off, we’ve never watched porn…”

“No, and now I know why...”

“Ha, try to blame me when it’s because your girlfriend would de-ball you if she ever found you out...” 

Will smiles. He doesn’t know why he was so nervous about this conversation. Admitting to Cecil, and to himself, that he’s gay is actually a kind of a relief. Checking out guys and finally having faces to go with those blurry dreams of his makes him feel more like a normal teenager and less like someone who’s constantly trying to squeeze their left foot into the right shoe. And Cecil doesn’t make fun of him or make it awkward at all. Well, for the most part. There’s some minor commenting concerning his crush on Nico, but it’s Cecil so Will could hardly expect anything else. His evil best friend would most definitely not have let him off easily if it had been a girl he was mooning over, so the fact that he doesn’t treat him any differently now is sort of reassuring. It almost makes Will feel normal. Like things are going to be ok, after all.

At school, things  _ are _ almost ok, actually. He still doesn’t spend much time alone with Katie, and she keeps her distance. But they all sit together at lunch again and her friends have stopped giving him resentful glares, which is good since the big Halloween party the cheerleaders are arranging at Drew’s place is only a couple of days away and Will has been looking forward to it. It’s going to be retro-Halloween, which means he doesn’t even have to try to come up with some cool or original outfit. Oh, and also, Nico is going, which makes something strange flutter expectantly in Will’s stomach for days.

.oOo.

When the day of the party arrives, Will is starting to feel a bit nervous. He almost can’t remember why he was looking forward to it. There are just so many things that could go wrong. For example, it’s his first party in a long time where he wasn’t dating anyone... What if someone tries to come on to him? What if that college dude Nico was hooking up with shows up again? Or what if Will gets drunk and starts flirting with him just to realize Nico isn’t the least bit interested? Well, he can prevent that at least. Probably.

Turns out, he doesn’t need to be nervous about meeting Nico for very long. Lou Ellen parks her Beetle outside of Drew’s house at the same time as Nico steps out of Hazel’s slick, black car. At least he assumes it’s Nico, because most of him is covered in a long, black cloak with a hood. He briefly wonders if he’s supposed to be Voldemort, because Hazel is definitely going for a Gryffindor witch look, complete with pointy hat, red and yellow scarf and what looks like a homemade magic wand. 

“Hazel? You’re Hermione Granger, right? Nice…” he comments. “And Nico? Who are you supposed to be?”

Nico just gives him a blank look from under his hood and points a wooden scythe at Will. “I am Death. And I have come for you...” he says in a low, hollow voice.

“Oh Gods. You’re hysterical” Will can’t keep himself from bursting out laughing. 

Nico sighs wearily. “Solace, spare me… Look at you, you’re such a cliché. Did you seriously dress up as a doctor for trick and treating when you were like eight?” 

“And you are the one to talk - Death Boy...” Will says, but he can’t help a faint blush from spreading across his cheeks. So, maybe he’s been dressing up as a doctor for every Halloween as far back as he can remember. And?

Nico narrows his eyes threateningly. “We have a special place in the Underworld for people like you...”

“I can’t wait…” Will says and winks. He instantly realizes his mistake when Nico’s eyes widen and his mouth falls slightly open.  _ Way to go not flirting with Nico….  _ Fuck, he’s not even drunk. Yet. But he decides perhaps he needs to be, after all. 

Hazel gives the two of them an odd look. “Stop flirting with your straight friends, Nico, you’re not even drunk…” she says, echoing Will’s thoughts, and tows her brother away. Apparently, she has interpreted their small exchange in a different way. 

Cecil hasn’t. He looks like he wants to crack some lame joke and is fighting hard to contain himself.

“Shut up” Will mutters under his breath, even if he hasn’t really said anything, and hurries inside before Lou notices anything. He definitely needs to reevaluate his not-getting-drunk policy.

.oOo.

Will’s slow descent into the seven circles of hell later that evening is all Katie’s fault. 

“It’s a retro party so we have to play some retro games, right?” she suggests. 

“Sounds like fun,” Will says, because he’s an idiot. And he wants to get along with Katie, so… 

“What about spin the bottle?” Drew suggests.

Eric, who’s trying to flirt with Drew, leans closer to her and wiggles his eyebrows. “Come on. We’re not actually twelve, you know. You can kiss me anytime if you want to…”

“Truth or dare then?” Katie suggests, but Will’s warning bells are evidently broken and don’t ring at all.

“Why not?!” he says, and the majority of their clique seems to agree. 

Except for Lou Ellen who scoffs loudly. “I refuse to play that stupid game. It’s discriminating and just something people use to embarrass their friends and take revenge on their enemies. It always ends with someone crying…” 

Will senses a fight coming between Katie and Lou and quickly steps in with a suggestion.

“Ok. So how about this - we all write truth questions and dares on notes and put them in two bowls. When it is your turn, you take either a truth or a dare-note, read it out loud and do the thing on it?” 

Hazel draws her eyebrows together. Unsurprisingly, she’s on team Lou Ellen… “How is that going to change anything?”

“Well, first of all, you might get your own note, so people won’t come up with really horrible stuff. And nobody can direct a question at someone else just to embarrass them…”

Lou nods. “Ok, fair enough. But there will be rules…”

After a somewhat chaotic debate, rules are settled and the game is on. 

Drew starts since it was her idea and has to answer a lame question about her first kiss. Eric has to change clothes with a guy from the Lacrosse team who has joined them, which is boring since their outfits were kind of similar to start with. Connor has to call the Pizza Parlour and try to order a pizza with pickles and chocolate on speaker phone, which is kind of funny. Will strongly suspects it was his own dare… Hazel blushes horribly when she has to talk about her first kiss, which turns out to be with Frank, the boyfriend nobody knew she had and who is still living in California. Lou Ellen refuses her dare to sit the rest of the game in her underwear and has to drink some awful concoction that smells strongly of curry powder, garlic and cheap alcohol as a consequence. 

“Nico, your turn.” Drew says.

Nico, who has been sitting a bit at the sides, drinking a coca cola, turns to them and sighs. “Do I have to be a part of this stupidity?” 

“Come on, don’t be such a buzz kill,” Drew pouts and drags him into the group.

“Ok, but I pick truth. I won’t have you force me to make out with some girl just to make me cringe…” 

“Fair enough, pick a note.”

Nico sighs and picks a note and reads. “ _ What is the most uncomfortable place you ever had sex? _ \- Oh, that’s easy. Car sex is definitely the worst. So many fucking things to hit your head on.”

Some of the others snicker and nod knowingly. Will struggles to relate, as per usual, being the only virgin in the room. Well, except for Katie. And Hazel, probably. When Will tries to picture it, his brain unhelpfully supplies images of Nico tumbling around half naked with some faceless dude in a car and something heavy presses over his chest.

“So, Nico…” Hazel asks suspiciously, interrupting his thoughts. “The only boyfriend you’ve had who owned a car was Tyler and he had like the biggest SUV known to man…”

“Hm…”

“Dear, sweet Jesus, please tell me you’ve never had sex in my car Nico…!” she says, a horrified look on her face.

Nico smirks and shrugs. “Not in the one you have now, I haven’t...”

“The heck, Nico…” she groans. She points her homemade wand threateningly at her brother. “If you ever do that again, I will hex you,” she declares. 

Nico gives her a tired, but amused, look. “You know you’re not a real witch, right?” 

“You’d better hope I’m not…”

Drew interrupts their bickering. “Ok, come on… Who’s next?”

Katie draws a dare-note and has to kiss the guy on her left, who happens to be Eric. She makes a pretty good show of kissing him long and hard on the mouth while Kyle, Drew and Lacy all shout and whistle. The others are looking at Will, like they are waiting for him to snap.

Will doesn’t snap though. There’s a distinct feeling of loss of some sort. Like, he’ll never have that kind of normal, easy going relationship that he had with Katie ever again. But there’s no tight feeling in his chest like when he pictured Nico in that car. 

When she’s done, Katie meets his eyes briefly. There’s a flicker of anticipation, and perhaps triumph, in them. Oh, fuck. He hopes she didn’t make out with Eric like that just to make Will jealous… 

When it’s his turn, Will choses dare, since like ninety percent of the questions are sex related and he doesn’t want to have to reveal to everyone that he’s a virgin. It’s not too bad though. He has to sit the rest of the game without a shirt on. Some of the girls whoop and he blushes like an idiot, as usual. 

Another guy from the lacrosse team claims he has slept with eight girls, which Will seriously doubts. He isn’t even hot. Nico seems to be thinking the same thing, and they lock eyes briefly as they both try not to laugh. Right there after, Nico has to confess that his first celebrity crush was the singer from Panic! at the disco, and he has to endure a fair amount of ridicule for being stereotypically emo gay.

They play a few more rounds Will almost can’t remember, except for when he has to give Cecil a back rub and when Hazel has to exchange all her vowels for i during the next round, which is hysterical.

When it’s Nico’s turn, Drew won’t let him choose truth again. 

“Nope, no more than two of the same category in a row. Those were the rules…” she says triumphantly and he glares at her. 

Nico scowls, but draws a note. “ _ Spin a bottle and make out with the person it lands on for at least thirty seconds, sitting in their lap _ ,” he reads. “Oh, come on. Can I just drink that curry-ting right now? I‘m not doing that.” 

“You’ll do no such thing, remember you promised to drive home my car?” Hazel protests.

Nico gives his sister a tired look. “What’s the point since you’re not drinking anyway?”

“So, I didn’t think you were that prude...? Boring...” Drew scoffs, interrupting their little debate.

“Hey, I’m not prude. I just don’t want to make anyone else uncomfortable, you know. Who wants to make out with the gay dude?” Nico tries to argue.

From the predatory smile flashing across Drews face, it’s obvious she wouldn’t mind at all. Will wouldn’t put it past her to think she can make him straight with her tongue or something. 

“Oh, but the person it lands on can always refuse and choose to drink themselves instead,” Lacy argues. “Think about it. If you spin, the one it lands on has to confess they aren’t secure enough in their own sexual identity to kiss you if they won’t, and you’ll have to watch them drink that horror. It’s a win-win, really.” 

Nico seems to think it over. “But what about if it lands on Hazel? She doesn’t drink alcohol...”

“Oh, then you get to spin again, obviously. Nobody wants to see that…” Drew says and scrunches up her nose. 

In the end, they somehow manage to convince Nico to do it. The bottle spins, and in the brief seconds before it stops, Will has time to change his mind about whether he wishes or fears it will land on him several times. It does land on Will, because, well, Karma or something. He still doesn’t know if it’s a punishment or a reward though.

Nico’s eyes flicker briefly to his, and there’s something almost vulnerable in them. He gives Hazel a quick look, like he’s searching for her help out of this or something. For a split second, Will thinks he’s going to forfeit anyway, but then his face settles into a determined, sort of cocky grin. 

“Well, Solace, I hope you like curry, because it’s up to you now…” 

Will meets Nico’s eyes with a steady gaze. He’s most definitely not looking at Cecil, but he can imagine what his best friend’s face looks like right now. Will doesn’t know what makes him do it, but for one, he doesn’t want to seem like a coward in front of the others. Oh, and perhaps it’s because he very much wants to kiss Nico. Although he’s aware it will probably kill him at least a little bit. 

“I’m not drinking that! Bring it on di Angelo.” he says, flashing Nico a mischievous smile. Somehow, he manages to keep his voice steady. 

Nico’s eyes widen in surprise for a second, and a faint blush is tainting his cheeks, but he collects himself quickly and groans. “Come on, can you at least put a shirt on…?” 

“No way,” Drew and Lacy and Connor all shout in unison and most of the guys on the team are roaring with laughter. 

Nico has lost his cape and hood sometime during the evening and is dressed in only black skinny jeans and a tight black t-shirt. Will tries to keep his cool, but his breath hitches as Nico gets closer and it’s like time slows down enough for Will to notice every sway of those narrow hips and the way he runs his hand through his messy black strands. 

“Alright, last chance to change your mind…” Nico says before he climbs on top of Will and straddles him. 

Will doesn’t dare to meet his eyes. The position is similar to when Jake kissed him at the party, but the whole situation is oh-so-different. And the worst part - he’s sporting a chub before Nico’s lips have even touched his. How on earth is he ever going to get out of this situation with his dignity intact?

His worries are quickly forgotten though, as the world seems to shrink around them until only he and Nico exist. Nico’s lips are full and soft. Almost like Katies, but firmer and more demanding as they explore his. When their tongues meet, an electric pulse travels through his body, setting off an explosion of butterflies in his chest. His hands are squeezing Nico’s hips so tightly he suspects it might bruise. He has no idea if the kiss only lasts thirty seconds, or if it’s more like an eternity, but suddenly, and far too soon, Nico untangles his hands from Will’s hair and gets off his lap. Will may let a small whimper slip as the loss of the warmth and that musky smell mixed with vanilla and pomegranate leave him desperately wanting more. His face is burning and it’s probably the first time in his life that he wishes he had a smaller dick, because then the bulge in his jeans wouldn’t be that noticeable. It’s going to take a miracle for nobody to notice the state he is in right now. Nico probably did already, Will realizes.

_ Fuck _ . 

When their eyes meet, it feels like a punch in the gut and Will can’t breathe. Yeah. If he was unsure about his feelings before, he’s not anymore. 

By some small miracle, very few people seem to have noticed that something beyond an ordinary fake-make out session just happened. Cecil can’t stop laughing though, and Will gets a couple of suspicious looks from Lou Ellen and Hazel. But other than that, nobody seems to react. Nico doesn’t look at him at all for the rest of the game though. It’s almost as if he’s afraid to. His eyes keep wandering in Will’s general direction, but they never land on him before he jerks his gaze away. 

Except for the very palpable presence of Nico, Will has no idea what happens next in the game, or at the party, or, hell, in his life. But suddenly, the game is over and people scatter and disappear in the crowd. Will is quick to bolt before Cecil can get to him. Or Lou Ellen. He rumbles around for a while, talking to random people and joining a round of beer pong, which he totally owns even if he’s already rather buzzed. He’s always had spectacular aim. A girl in his English class tries to drag him into the pool, shamelessly propositioning him straight to his face. He manages to escape and decides the party has sort of lost its allure, but unfortunately neither Cecil nor Lou Ellen are anywhere to be found. 

Will leans against the wall just outside the house, willing his head to stop spinning so he can think, when the door opens and none other than Nico di Angelo himself steps out. Will hasn’t seen him or Hazel since the game of truth or dare, and he almost thought they had gone home already. Now, his mouth goes dry and his head spins worse than ever as he tries to think about something smooth to say that won’t make things even more awkward between them. He comes up with exactly nothing. 

“Hey, Solace...“ Nico says instead, looking a bit uncertain. “I thought you had gone home already.” 

Will shrugs. “I was trying to, but I seem to have lost my ride... You haven’t seen Lou, have you?“

“Sorry. Not in a while…” Nico says.

“Oh…”

Nico gives him a long look and seems to make up his mind about something. “But, you know. I was just leaving so if you need a ride I can drop you off?”

Will is suddenly very aware of the fact that he has a heart, since it’s pounding like mad against his ribcage. 

“Really? If it’s no trouble…” he says, before he can change his mind. He doesn’t know if anything good will come out of being alone in a car with Nico while he’s sober and Will is, well, not. But he doesn’t feel like walking across town in the middle of the night. And he wants to talk to Nico and make it seem like everything is normal between them. Besides, they won’t be alone. Hazel will be there. 

“Sure. It’s not even a detour…” Nico says and shrugs. 

“Ok, so let’s find Hazel and go…” 

Nico’s eyes flicker to his briefly. “Oh, dad picked her up earlier,” he says, with an air of nonchalance that doesn’t seem completely genuine. “Made me stay sober the whole night, just so I can drive her car home. Lovely girl.” Nico rolls his eyes, seemingly more confident as Will chuckles. 

.oOo.

Except for the low background noise of rubber rolling over asphalt, and the dull humming of the heater, the silence is almost eerie in the car. None of them speak, and Nico hasn’t even bothered to turn the radio on. Will struggles desperately to find something to say, but nothing comes to mind that doesn’t sound either completely out of place or totally cringy. Like, how do you start a conversation about the weather, when all you think about is that passionate kiss you just shared not two hours ago, and how much you would like to do it again? 

Nico isn’t the most talkative dude on the best of days, so him being quiet might not be all that strange, but without Will filling the silence between them, the tension in the air grows almost unbearable in the few minutes it takes Nico to navigate the empty streets and arrive outside Will’s building. When he parks the car and turns off the engine, Will’s hands are sweaty and his heart is pounding in his throat. He needs to say something though. He couldn’t stand leaving things like this between them! 

Without even knowing what he’ll say, he clears his throat and starts with “Hey,” at the exact same time as Nico turns to face him and says “So…”

They both laugh nervously. “You first…” Will says, because he’s a coward sometimes. And he didn’t know what to say anyway. 

Nico gives him a small smile. It’s not one of his cocky, sarcastic signature smiles at all though. It’s something more uncertain. Vulnerable. Pleading?

He takes a deep breath, like he’s bracing himself. “Ok. So. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry about… you know. Before. I don’t want things to be weird between us.” 

Will blinks in confusion. Yes, he gets why things could get weird. He doesn’t get why that’s Nico’s fault at all. Or why he looks so guilty.

“What?” he says, “why would things be weird?” Which isn’t the right question, really. But he wants to hear Nico’s version, he guesses. He doesn’t really understand himself right now. 

Nico gives him an incredulous look. “Wow. I… Shit. I just… I thought you noticed. Sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything. Now I just made it weird myself, didn’t I?”

“Noticed what?” Will asks, still not managing to follow exactly.

“Nothing,” Nico says quickly, but catching Will’s eyes and the expression on his face, he sighs and groans. “Ok. Everybody else noticed, so someone is bound to point it out to you sooner or later anyway,” he mutters before giving Will an apologetic look and starting what sounds like a speech he has rehearsed in his head at least a few times.

“Look. Perhaps you were more smashed than I thought if you didn’t even realize, but I might have let things get out of hand a bit with that dare… and I… I thought perhaps you would think it’s weird or offensive that I obviously find you attractive, but let me just say that I didn’t mean to come on to you like that and it will never happen again. I really value our friendship, and I don’t want to let this come between us... “

Will’s mouth falls open as his brain finally manages to process what Nico is trying to say. Relief and happiness bubble up inside him as he realizes the attraction he feels to Nico isn’t as one-sided as he had feared.

“Wait, wait, wait…” he says and grabs Nico’s arm to stop him from talking. “You think it was your fault?” 

Nico’s head jerks up in surprise, and there’s confusion in his dark eyes as he searches Will’s blue ones. Will is overwhelmed by a sudden urge to reassure him, mixed with a tug in his heart that pulls him toward the amazing, beautiful, adorable, vulnerable boy next to him and he just can’t help it. He leans forward and presses his lips against Nico’s. This kiss is slower and more gentle than their last one. More intimate. Instead of the wild passion that flared up inside him at the party, a slow ache is building in his gut, filling him with desperate want of a kind that isn’t necessarily strictly sexual, but probably could be if he would let it go that way. 

They kiss for a long while, his hands tangled in Nico’s soft hair and Nico’s hands tentatively stroking his back. It grows steadily more intense though, deeper and more desperate. When Nico moans slightly into his mouth Will comes to his senses and pulls away, panting.  _ What the ever loving hell is he doing?  _ He can’t lead Nico on like this, not when he’s so unsure of what he can give him. What he wants himself. He doesn’t want to lose his virginity in Hazel’s car, that’s for sure. He doesn’t think he could do the casual sex thing anyway, especially not with Nico. And he can’t really offer a relationship right now either, so what is he trying to accomplish with this? 

“I’m sorry…” he rasps. “I probably shouldn’t have done that…” 

Nico is the one to look completely stunned now, probably fighting to keep up with Will’s quick changes of heart. His eyes are almost black as they hold Will’s.

“I don’t understand…” he says, voice thick and quivering. “I thought… I mean. I thought you were straight..?” 

Will sighs, but meets Nico’s eyes steadily as he explains. “Well, so did I, but I’m not so sure about that anymore…”

“Oh.” Nico’s lips are forming a small circle of surprise. “But… not just because of what happened tonight, or?” he says uncertainly. 

Will heaves a deep sigh. He needs to be honest with Nico if he’s to get out of this without cocking everything up spectacularly. Well, sort of honest anyway. 

“No. I mean. It’s been a process I guess. It started when I couldn’t… I mean, when I realized the reason I didn’t want to sleep with Katie was because I wasn’t attracted to her like that. First, I just thought I wasn’t ready. But then I realized it was more than that. I’m still not sure what I am exactly, but I’ve started to notice that I look at guys the way my friends look at girls. And I’ve known for a while that I’m attracted to you, I just sort of got it confirmed tonight.” he tries to explain. “I actually thought  _ you _ noticed…” he adds sheepishly. 

Nico blushes in the most adorable way. “I guess I was too busy panicking about you noticing  _ my _ reaction…” 

Will smiles bashfully at him from under his eyelashes and wishes that the world consisted of only him and Nico. And perhaps a large bed. Then things would be easy. 

“So,” Nico says after a few seconds of silence, “...where do you want to go from here? I mean. I really like you, obviously, but you’re also my friend and team captain. I don’t know if I can be your experiment while you figure out if you like guys or not.” he says, sounding a bit guarded. 

Will sighs and rubs his hands over his face, trying to think. That’s definitely not what he wants either, but it still feels like rejection for some reason. 

“No, I get that. Really.” He says. “I shouldn’t have kissed you like that. I just wanted you to know that I really like you too. But you’re right. I’m a mess right now. I just broke up with Katie, and basically only Cecil and my step brother know about me being gay. Maybe being gay. At least not straight. Or whatever. Lou sort of suspects it, I guess, but… I don’t think I’m ready to come out before I’ve even figured it out myself.” He looks down and picks on a small piece of lint in the denim of his trousers. He’s lost the doctor’s coat he came to the party in sometime during the evening, but that’s the least of his troubles right now. 

When he finally looks at Nico something resembling sadness flickers across his face, but he rearranges his features into a challenging expression and meets Will’s eyes with a slightly cocky half-smile on his lips.

“I get that Solace. I really do. Go figure yourself out, and if you’re lucky, I might even be waiting for you when you’re done.”

Part of Will wants to call Nico out on his bullshit and say that he’s really sorry if he has hurt him. He wants to tell him about his feelings, about how amazing he thinks the other boy is. He wants to explain all about the scholarship and his mom and how he needs to figure out how to come out. But he doesn’t say any of those things. “In the meantime, we’ll be friends, right?” he asks instead.

Will wants to take it back as soon as it is out. Fuck, did he just accidentally friend zone his major crush?

Nico tenses up before Will can retract his statement though. “Sure. Sounds good to me…” he says, but he doesn’t meet Will’s eyes and it feels like he has mentally disappeared to somewhere on the other end of the galaxy, even though his body is still very much present in the car. 

Damn, Will really is a first class idiot sometimes…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, I'm sorry that I didn't have time to answer comments these last few days, but it's been crazy. As always, I'm so happy to hear from my readers. To be honest though, it was also a bit because I got self conscious about it after I read something in another fandom I'm reading in. One of the writers explained how they never answer comments because they didn't want to "inflate the comments section" since it felt like cheating...? To be honest, I never even realized that AO3 counts my comments as well on the fic (or that it mattered - I alway sort by kudos if I start reading somewhere new). In my opinion, it's just polite. And the only way to interact with the readers since there's no chat function? (and I tried going on Tumblr, but I can never figure that place out). So, what do you think? Annoying or entertaining when the writer answers comments?


	17. Nico

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! I'm sorry this took so long to post even if it's too short... I had like half a paragraph left to write on this, but my week has been crazy. Do you ever do that thing where you believe everything will calm down after a deadline, only to realize you've been postponing like a million things until that date and then they all fall on your head the moment you submit your work/essay/report...? No? Oh, so you're good people who plan ahead? I see... Well, I'm not... Lmao...
> 
> Anyway, the next Will chapter is much longer and actually finished, and will be out in a day or two maximum!
> 
> Also, I had a question from a reader as to why Will being out may ruin his chances of a scholarship... Well, as I said in the beginning, I'm no expert on the matter so I may be wrong. But putting together what I know about homophobia in professional team sports like soccer (at least where I live, and Google tells me things aren't much better in the US, sadly), and what I know of sports scholarships for college (which is mostly from movies and tv-series though, I admit) I assumed that there may be a risk that any talent scouts from sports teams may be bigoted enough to reject an openly gay player. Now, if this is wrong, I'm just that much happier even if it means my story doesn't really hold all the way... And you'll just have to humor me that things are like that in this universe, because it's getting important later and I can't really change it now without rewriting most of the last four of five chapters ;)

Nico decides to crown himself the biggest idiot of all time and all universes as he stands under the steaming shower, desperately hoping that stupidity can be washed away if you use just enough shampoo… But it doesn’t seem to work any better than trying to will his unwelcome erection away while knowing that the hottest man on earth is more or less naked on the other side of that wall this very moment. Fuck, when did his life turn into such a mess? 

He knows exactly when. It was when he kissed Will Solace during a stupid drinking game at a stupid party. Damn, he’d dated Tyler forever and he had never felt anything close to  _ that _ when kissing him. Once his lips had touched Will’s, he got so lost in the moment he practically dry humped the man in front of everybody watching, completely forgetting the time. The make out session probably lasted twice as long as it was supposed to, but it was impossible to stop, once he started… Like a drug. Solace is like a fucking drug, and Nico can’t get enough, even if he only gets a lot of innocent flirting and accidental touching from him at the moment. 

But that’s Nico’s own fault. When Will surprised him by kissing him in the car afterwards, he could probably have persuaded him to be more than friends, but he didn’t want to be Will’s little experiment while going through a sexual identity crisis. So they decided to be friends, for now. Stupid mistake no. 1. And then Nico half promised to wait for him to figure himself out. Stupid mistake no. 2. 

So now it’s like he’s stuck in this half-relationship. No kissing. No sex. (And isn’t that just a tragedy…) But still feeling an obligation not to fool around with someone else (not that he really wants to, but still). And they are definitely a little more than friends. Like, they hang out a lot, text each other a lot, touch a lot, stare into each other's eyes a lot, flirt a lot… To summarize, Nico thinks he’s going mad. Some days he just has to back off and get a bit of distance to keep the last of his sanity intact. And to keep the others from getting too suspicious.

Oh, and then there’s stupid mistake no. 3, which led to his current problem. Today, he did the forbidden and  _ looked _ . He was held back by coach Kiron who informed him the talent scouts were interested, to which he said thanks but no thanks, obviously. But as a result, he was late into the locker room, and he just accidentally happened to sneak a peak when Will was in the shower. It was only for a second, but that image is going to be burned into his retinas forever. The gorgeous blond, still a bit tanned with light spray of freckles across his shoulders (however that’s even possible in November, Nico doesn’t know), water running down his chiseled body. A body to die for, obviously. Not too bulky, but well defined shoulders and chest muscles, a hint of a six pack and a perfect V-shape pointing from his narrow hips down to...oh God, the most perfect cock Nico has ever seen, hanging from a nest of soft, blond curls. And he was sporting a semi too, just to be even more of a tease. At least Nico fucking hopes he was, because that thing was  _ not _ small, and Nico can’t even begin to imagine how big it will get when it’s fully erect. Dear sweet Jesus, the idea of having that amazing cock inside of him gives him goosebumps all over... And no, it’s not helping him get rid of his now pretty proud erection. Fuck. 

Jerking off in the communal showers with half his team still changing clothes outside is like the worst idea since the invention of pop tarts, and Nico really hates those abominations with passion. They taste like dry pieces of cardboard someone hid a failed chemical experiment inside and then sprinkled with a tonne of sugar, hoping it will cover their mistake up.

No matter how cold he turns the water, his stubborn erection just won’t go down. Ok, so tugging himself off right now might be slightly less of a bad idea when he thinks about it. The alternative is standing in the shower for so long that everyone thinks he did it anyway. Or walking out like this, which isn’t really an option at all. He turns away from the opening of his shower stall and takes himself in his soapy hand and starts stroking himself. It doesn’t take long for him to finish, imagining strong arms holding him up and fucking him hard against the wall. He has no problem picturing Will’s head thrown back in pleasure as his huge cock pulses inside Nico. Oh fuck… 

He really, really hopes the man doesn’t turn out to be ace. That would be a tragedy. 

When he comes out of the shower, trying to look innocent, most of the team is gone. But Eric and Kyle and a couple of others are still there. Fortunately, Will is gone. Or unfortunately, because Eric is never as much of a jerk to Nico when he’s around. Not that Nico normally cares about bigoted bastards, but it would have been nice to really feel comfortable around his team mates.

He manages to put on boxers and jeans before Eric evidently can’t help himself anymore. 

“So, it’s unusual to see you in the showers di Angelo…”

He glares at the idiot but decides it’s better to just shut up. He thinks he knows where this conversation is going. 

“Why are you so scared of changing with the rest of us? I would have thought you’d love to hang around naked guys. Or are you afraid you’ll get a boner?” Eric continues, because the idiot evidently just doesn't know when to stop.

“No, I’m afraid that if I have to look at your junk flapping about it will put me off sex forever…” Nico deadpans and he doesn’t miss a couple of the other guys snorting. 

Eric turns to them and sneers. “Come on, don’t tell me you’re ok with him checking you out in the shower?”

Lucas, their goalie, sighs and turns to Eric. “I thought the point was that he doesn’t shower with us, ergo he can’t check anyone out…” 

“But he would…” Eric argues.

“What the fuck is wrong with you dude, are you retarded or something?” Cecil says with a sigh. That man always has to get involved, but Nico thinks he’s quite cool so it’s ok. “He obviously doesn’t shower with us because he wants to show respect to the few, but loud, bigoted idiots who aren’t secure enough in their own sexual identity to handle if a guy would think they are good looking… No names mentioned.”

Nico can’t help snorting. “For the record, I don’t find you the slightest bit attractive, so you can rest your troubled little mind…” he tells Eric, who looks like he’s about to explode. 

“Personally, I don’t care,” Lucas says. “I think I could shower with the girls without harassing someone and I would probably just think it’s flattering if a guy would find me attractive…”

“You’re all mental…” Eric snaps and picks up his stuff to leave. 

“Careful there, you’d not want to risk collateral damage when you wave around your razor sharp wit like that…” Nico says, but not loud enough for Eric to hear, really. He can be the bigger man here, right?

Nico silently thinks that Eric probably couldn’t handle himself in the girls locker room, and that’s what he’s relating to. But Nico has had years and years of practice of Not Looking. And also, he isn’t a creep. He can’t deny he feels good about his other teammates coming to his defense, though. He hasn’t really known what they are thinking before, but it seems Eric and his friend Kyle are in the minority. Nico also suspects that part of Eric’s problems with him has more to do with the fact that the guy on the bench most of the time while Nico is playing the position he used to have. And he can sort of understand how it doesn’t exactly endear him to the dude, but going after him because of his sexuality is still a low blow. Nico has plenty of other annoying personality traits one could use against him, after all. 

.oOo.

Nico avoids Will as best he can for a couple of days after the shower incident. He just can’t bring himself to look into those cornflower blue eyes - just seeing Will in the corridors is enough to make his neck heat up in embarrassment. His official explanation for not sitting with his team mates as usual at lunch is that he’s helping Lou and some of her friends from the GSA organizing an anti-slur campaign. This works well enough as an excuse, the only drawback being that he actually has to help out; and one of the people involved is, naturally, Annoying Kevin. Although getting to know the guy has made Nico a bit more patient with him. He’s kind of sweet and harmless, really. But he also won’t stop flirting with Nico and asking him on dates, no matter how many times he is rejected. Today, for example, he is trying to convince Nico to go out with him again - to the movies, this time. 

“Come on Nico, just go on one single date with me, and I promise I won’t ever bother you again if you don’t have a good time….” Kevin argues.

Nico sighs heavily and rolls his eyes. At this point, he’s not even sure the guy is serious. It might have turned into some kind of game for him. “Kevin… you know what my answer will be…”

“But why not? The worst thing that could happen is that you get to watch a movie and eat popcorn for free, no pressure to even hold hands. I mean, that’s an offer you can hardly refuse, right?” Kevin says and flashes him a flirty smile. 

“I told you, I don’t date…” Nico says for what feels like the twentieth time just this week.

“Why though? Unless there’s someone else?” Kevin asks innocently, probably hoping to snare Nico into some kind of trap. 

Nico’s shoulders lift briefly in a small, reflexive shrug. “It’s complicated...” he answers without thinking and Kevin’s face falls. 

Mitchell, who is sitting next to Kevin, either doesn’t notice his friend’s grimace, or he doesn’t care. He looks like Christmas came early, eagerly leaning across the table to hear the last piece of gossip. “What? Did you meet someone, you didn’t tell us you met someone?” he asks.

Nico wants to punch himself for being an idiot, but it’s too late to retract his stupid statement now. Instead, he tries desperately to think of an explanation. Obviously, he can’t say anything about Solace, or anyone else they know. The first person who comes to mind is Tyler, and he supposes it isn’t a half bad excuse, actually. 

“Well, there’s this guy back in L.A. We sort of broke up because we didn’t want to do the long distance thing, and neither of us wanted to go a whole year without sex…” Nico says. Kevin looks relieved and opens his mouth, probably to protest that it’s not a problem if he has an ex-boyfriend. Which, to be fair, it probably wouldn’t be of that was the real reason. Nico quickly interrupts him. “...but I guess it’s more like an extended break than a real break-up in a way,” he adds, trying to look casual. He hates lying like this, but he also doesn’t want to get Will involved just because his stupid mouth choses the worst times to run off on its own. And if it will make Kevin stop asking him out it will probably be worth whatever damage it does to his Karma. 

Or, so he thought. Just as Nico’s usual luck would have it, it turns out that whatever almighty power there may be out there decides to punish Nico instantly. At least, Nico assumes that’s it, or what would the odds be that Solace shows up in that exact moment, flanked by Lou Ellen, and casually slides into a chair next to Nico?

“Hey guys, Will said he’d help…” Lou says and all the others greet him enthusiastically. Having the captain of the soccer team on board is sure to help any campaign fly. Nico hates that, but he also knows there is little he can do about the complicated rules of high school hierarchy. Will just shrugs, looking a little bit embarrassed about the attention. Or, at least his cheeks are somewhat flushed as he briefly meets Nico’s eyes, but Nico can’t afford to let himself believe that it’s about anything else. Although there might be something, judging by the very adorable, shy smile Nico receives, and he can only assume Will didn’t hear much of the previous conversation. He almost thinks he’s gotten away with his white lie after all, but then karma catches up with him again.

“Sweet,” Mitchell says, flashing a mischievous smile at Will, but quickly dismisses him in favor of staring at Nico again. “We’ll fill you guys in on the status in a minute, but we were just about to hear some juicy gossip about Nico’s boyfriend back in L.A…” Mitchell adds, sealing Nico’s destiny. 

Well, fuck… Nico stares sourly up into the ceiling.  _ All I did was tell a tiny white lie just because I didn’t want to hurt poor Kevin, and this is what I get for the effort? Thanks a fucking lot for nothing,  _ he silently tells the Universe. Cursing at any potential higher powers probably doesn’t help his case, he realizes, but it still feels good. It’s not like he’s asking for much here; he just wants a simpler life, that’s all, really. A simpler life. 


	18. Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Helloooo! Just because you guys were so patient with me last week, I managed to finish up the editing of this chapter pretty quickly :) It helped a lot that I found the script that makes it possible to post from google docs without messing up the formatting! Yay!

As autumn slowly turns into winter, Will struggles to find a new normal. Sometimes he thinks things were easier last year, when all he had to worry about were his grades and his soccer scholarship. When he was a regular straight dude in a comfortable, simple, predictable relationship and his mom was his only family.

Cecil tries to tell him that change isn’t always bad, and in a way, Will knows he’s right. He does feel good about his newly discovered sexuality in a way, like he’s found a missing part of himself. And he would definitely never give up on his relationship with Lee now that he knows his half brother. But still. Things are just so _complicated_.

He has to lie to his mom about seeing Lee, and from the snippets of information Lee tells him about his dad, he’s starting to suspect she hasn’t been completely honest with him about everything that happened between the two of them either. He tries to ask her things sometimes, but she just gets dismissive and irritated at every mention of his dad or his brothers. Their relationship is also straining from him hiding his sexuality from her. He tries to tell her several times, but it’s almost like she doesn’t want to hear about it. Any mention of people not being straight makes her lips thin and her eyes go stern and demanding as she tells him not to talk about “things like that”.

And then there’s Nico. He’s like the guy who gave “complicated” a name, if you ask Will, and their relationship is all over the place. Some days, Nico can be flirty and pretty obviously showing an interest in Will. Other times, he’s keeping his distance, acting cool and dismissive. Will never knows which Nico he’s going to get and he doesn’t know how to act around the guy half of the time. He fights against the urge to just kiss him, or tell him that he’s ready now and _please, please, please just go out with me._ He almost does on a couple of occasions, but he always chickens out. First of all, he doesn’t know if he _is_ ready yet himself. He has told Lou, and even managed to convince her he needs time before coming out officially. But nobody else knows and he hasn’t found the opportunity to tell Nico about the scholarship and why he stays in the closet.

He also doesn’t know where he stands with Nico. On the good days, he doesn’t want to ruin things, and on the bad days he’s afraid Nico doesn’t want him. And on top of it all, there was this one time when he walked in on Nico talking about his ex back in L.A. Only, he evidently had presented it more like them being on a break, if Mitchell is to be believed. It had made Will want to throw up at first, but Lou had speculated that it might have been something he said to get Kevin to stop flirting with him. That guy just can’t take a hint. But still, it’s all excruciatingly frustrating and he can’t really ask Nico about it, now, can he? It’s not like Nico owes him explanations, really... Will sometimes wonders if it’s worth it. Is love supposed to be this complicated?

The only time Nico is acting completely normal is on the soccer field, regardless of if it’s during practice or game day. For this, Will is grateful, since talent scouts have been lurking around at some of their games. Will doesn’t know if they are looking at him or at Nico, or someone else though. Not until one of them shows up at practice one day to talk to Coach Kiron. Will is almost shaking with nervousness as Coach holds him back after practice and introduces him.

Afterwards, he feels like he’s going to die from excitement. And a bit from guilt. Nico is really a much better player than he is; and as much as Will needs a scholarship it doesn’t feel right that it’s only him they are talking to. Secretly, he had harbored some small hope that maybe they would make an offer both to him and Nico, preferably as a team and to the same college so they could go together. It’s with a sinking feeling that he realizes their lack of interest in Nico might have something to do with the fact that he’s out. Perhaps the scouts found out and they are exactly as bigoted as Will had feared? Then again, he’s got the strong suspicion that Nico doesn’t really need a scholarship in order to afford college.

And as it turns out, one Tuesday after practice, he’s right about that last part.

He doesn’t mean to eavesdrop, he really doesn't. But when he gets into the locker room, he sees Nico’s bag on the floor and panics. Normally, Nico is still out of the shower before the others even have finished untying their cleats, but today Coach sent everyone except Will to the showers at once. Meaning Nico has done the opposite and hung back until everybody else is out, except Will. And he really doesn’t want to bump into a naked Nico, or step into the showers with him. Or well, he obviously wants to, but it would probably kill him. Instead, he hides in the storage closet like an idiot when he hears the shower being turned off.

Yeah, he’s hiding in a closet. The irony is not lost on him…

He sighs and leans back against the wall, when he suddenly hears Nico’s voice and freezes. But he’s obviously talking on the phone; Will only hears half of the conversation.

“Hey dad, it’s me.”

...

“Fine, but Hazel had to go somewhere and I’m just finished with soccer practice. You couldn’t pick me up, could you?”

...

“Ok. I’ll call Jules Albert then…”

...

“What? No practice was good. It took a bit longer because those damn scouts were here again.”

...

“Of course not, I already told Coach I’m not interested in selling my soul…”

…

“Ok, see you at home.”

Will is just processing the information that Nico evidently already dismissed the idea of being introduced to talent scouts - and told his dad about it like it wasn’t a big deal - when he hears him again.

“Hey Jules, I’m stuck at school and I need a ride.”

…

“It depends. Do you think you could take Hazel’s car and pick me up outside of the gymnasium as soon as possible…?”

…

“Oh, she isn’t? Ok. But in that case, I can’t have you showing up at school. Can you pick me up outside of Starbucks in like half an hour?”

…

“I’ll walk there.”

…

“Because I can’t be seen in that thing. You know why, we talked about this, ok? I have a reputation to think about…”

…

“I’d be careful with the insults if I were you Jules, Christmas is coming up and you still want your bonus, right?”

…

Nico chuckles before answering. “Well thank you, Sir, for your loyal services to our family, I’m most obliged… I’ll even pick up a coffee for you.”

Nico ends the conversation with his… whatever, still chuckling to himself. It didn’t sound like he was asking a favor from a friend of his dad’s. It sounded more like he was talking to an employee or a close family friend. Add that to the fact that he just refused the chance of a full scholarship like it’s not even worth discussing with your parents first because he wants to be independent, and Will can’t help wondering how loaded that guy is? And why does he sort of pretend not to be?

Will stays in the closet until Nico is long gone, fighting the urge to follow him and check out what car he’s so embarrassed to be seen in that he’d rather walk five blocks than be picked up outside of school. But eavesdropping is bad enough, he doesn’t have to add stalking to the list of his all time creepy moments. He’ll just have to figure it out some other way. Besides, the conversation he just heard makes him realize he really doesn’t know all that much about Nico, and he’s genuinely interested in his background. If he ever wants to go out with him, he’s got to get to know him better. He just has to figure out a way to ask…

The opportunity comes a week later when they are studying together in the library. And yes, it’s one of the good days. They are talking and flirting more than they focus on their assignment, but Will doesn’t care. It’s an essay about Greek Mythology though, and Will suddenly thinks of a way to open up to Nico about himself, hoping to get something back…

“Hey, do you want to know something embarrassing?” he asks.

“What? Free blackmail material, Solace? Of course I do…” Nico grins back at him.

Will rolls his eyes but his cheeks heat up a bit as they always do when Nico looks at him like that. “Well, this is almost common knowledge, so… But did you know my dad is actually named after a greek god? Or more like, he named himself after one…”

Nico’s head snaps up in surprise. “What? Are you shitting me?”

“Nope.” Will says. “He’s a singer and he calls himself Apollo for a stage name. Because he evidently thinks he looks like a greek god. Modest guy, huh?”

“Well, if he looks anything like you, he might be onto something…” Nico says with a wiggle of his eyebrows and a cute half smile that makes Will blush even deeper. Nico laughs. “Sorry, that was bad. I’ll give Kevin a run for his money if I keep the cheesy lines coming like this…” he says, playing it off as a joke, but the way he looks up at Will from under his long, dark eyelashes tells another story. “But seriously, you have no idea what a weird coincidence this is…”

Will gives him a curious glance. “Why?”

“Well… if you tell people about this I may have to punch your divine little face, but…” he starts and smirks at Will’s still embarrassed expression. “The thing is, my stepmom is greek, and her actual name is Persephone. I swear, it’s true. But it has led to everybody joking about my dad being Hades - you know the god of the underworld she married? It has gone on for so long that everybody just calls him that now, himself included.”

“That is kind of a freaky coincidence actually… So, are your parents divorced too then?” Will asks, wondering if they have even more in common. He knows Nico lives with his dad though.

Nico’s good humor vanishes in a split second as he sighs and mumbles. “No. My mom died when I was little…”

“Oh, I’m sorry… I didn’t know.”

“It’s ok. It was a long time ago.”

“So, your dad met Hazel’s mum then? But wait, Hazel doesn’t exactly look half greek? Is Persephone his third wife then?”

Nico scrunches his face up like he’s cursing himself for letting this conversation happen. He gives Will a long look before answering, but finally he sighs and says. “No. It’s complicated. My family is a bit of a freak show, to be honest. You probably don’t want to hear about it…”

Will tries for a comforting smile. “If you want to tell me, I’ll listen. But you don’t have to. My family is pretty messed up too, though, if that’s any help. My dad hasn’t spoken to me or my mum since I was six, I’ve got a half sister almost my own age who I never met, and two half brothers my mom won’t let me see… Beat that cluster fuck of a family and I’ll treat you to a pity waffle with extra chocolate at the waffle house after school“

“Wow. That’s yeah. I don’t know… Perhaps you deserve chocolate, but I wouldn’t let a chance like that go without a fight. So, let’s see. My dad married Persephone when he was twenty, more or less forced by his parents. He cheated on her for years though - when my mom died and me and Bianca turned up at his doorstep, she found out he had basically had a whole other family in Italy, who he visited when he was on business trips there. My big sister never got over the shock of what her dad had done. ‘Married and living in the US’ wasn’t exactly the story our mom told us about why he was rarely home. Bianca joined the army as soon as she was allowed and has been absent ever since. Then, three years ago, Hazel showed up when her mom died too and voila - I had another sister, born from a short affair my dad had on another business trip. Hazel had never even met him before, the poor thing.”

“Oh my goodness, yeah, that’s…” Will starts, completely at a loss for something to say.

Nico gives him a resigned shrug. “Pretty fucked up, I know. So. Did I earn my waffle?”

Will nods. “I’ll have to get you coffee too for that. So, what about his wife… What's her take on all of this?”

Nico smiles grimly. “Well, let’s just say it took her a while to warm up to us. But she can’t have children of her own, and she knows it isn’t exactly our fault that dad can’t keep it in his pants. Also, she has threatened to cut his balls off if he ever cheats on her again, and I think she means business… So, somehow, they have come to an understanding, and she’s accepted us even if she’ll probably never develop any particularly cordial feelings towards us.”

“Wow… Shit, I’m sorry…”

“No, it’s ok. I didn’t want pity. Except for that pity-date with waffles you advertised...” Nico grins mischievously and Will’s stomach fills up with bubbles again.

“You wouldn’t have to resort to pity to get a date, though, I just…” he mumbles, grasping for a way to explain that he still isn’t ready. Or is he? It feels so right to sit here with Nico, sharing stuff with him. It’s like being with an old friend, who he also finds incredibly attractive and just wants to jump whenever he sees him. It would feel so natural to just reach out and take his hand, and… perhaps he should…?

Nico interrupts his thoughts. “I know… don’t worry about it. I didn’t mean to pressure you, it was just a joke, ok?” he says, and Will chickens out again. Perhaps next time?

Will makes good on his promise to treat Nico to coffee later, but to his disappointment, Hazel, Cecil and Lou Ellen decide to tag along when they hear the word waffles being mentioned. And what is he supposed to say - that he was hoping to go alone with Nico since he was thinking it could be sort of like a date?

“So, why are you buying waffles for my dear brother?” Hazel asks suspiciously when Will comes back with Nico’s and his order. Nico shuffles a bit closer to his sister in order to make room for Will, and he sits down next to him on the bench. The booth is probably supposed to seat four people and he has to sit so close to Nico that he feels the warmth of his leg pressing against his thigh. He really doesn’t mind.

Will tries not to look affected - neither by the closeness nor by Hazel’s question, and he tries to come up with a reasonable explanation that doesn’t involve having to share their intimate conversation from earlier. For some reason, he doesn’t want anyone else to know about that. It feels sort of nice having secrets between the two of them. Although perhaps they already did? At least Will hasn’t told anyone about that kiss in the car after the Halloween party...

Luckily, Nico reacts before Will has had the chance to answer Hazel. “Let’s just say it involves a bet, and I won…” he says smugly.

“Now, this is interesting…” Lou Ellen says eagerly.

Will shakes his head. “Nope, forget it…”

She grins and leans forward to whisper conspiratorially. “Oh, but now I’m just going to imagine it was something dirty…”

Will kicks her under the table, but she just grins at him and starts devouring her waffle like any other day.

“So, why is it we don’t have a winter formal at L.I. High? Or a Christmas dance or something?” Hazel asks, changing the topic of conversation.

Will answers, eager to steer clear of him and Nico. “We used to. But it was cut this year since the cheerleaders convinced Mr Dee we should have a Valentine’s dance instead.”

Nico groans loudly. “That’s an awful idea…” he says, a horrified expression on his face, like if they are arranging it as a personal offense against him.

“You don’t like Valentine’s day?” Will asks before he can think the better of it and immediately regrets it when he sees Cecil’s smug look.

“What’s to like? Let’s just say Cupid never did me any favors…” Nico mutters.

Hazel’s lips twitch slightly as she puts a comforting hand on her brother’s arm. “He had a bad experience with a Valentine's day greeting gone wrong. It’s a long story,” she says.

“And one we decided never to talk about again.” Nico snaps.

“You were fourteen, Nico…” she says, but not without pity in her eyes.

Lou sets her coffee mug down with emphasis, ending their debate. “Well, I think Valentine’s day’s greetings are an abomination. At least when they take place at school… It’s just another way for the beautiful people to show off and make the rest feel left out.”

“Amen to that…” Nico says, lifting his mug in her honor.

“...which is why I actually support the dance.” Lou continues, to Will’s surprise. “It’s a way for everybody to feel included on Valentine's day, even if you don’t have a date. And Mr Dee has forbidden cards and stuff to be delivered at school this year.”

“I didn’t know about that…” Will says, “that’s great then, we could all go as friends?” he suggests.

Nico still mutters something about being allergic to pink hearts and angels with bows, but agrees to coming to show his support after Hazel accuses him of being whiney and bitter.

.oOo.

The last schooldays of December fly by before Will knows it, and suddenly it’s Christmas.

“Will, can you come here and lift down the box with the baubles from the top shelf?” his mother calls out to him from somewhere in the depths of their cluttered storage closet.

“Sure mom, be right there…”

Will throws his phone on the table next to him and sighs. He’s having a hard time feeling the joy of the season this year with only him and his mom alone at home. Not that it’s anything unusual, really. But this year he misses having a real family more than ever. He thinks about Lee, who’s gone back to visit his mom in Connecticut over the holidays, and he wonders what his dad is doing. And all the other half siblings he’s never met.

It’s not family, but he’s also desperately wondering what Nico is doing. He and Hazel have gone back to L.A over Christmas and New Year’s, and Will’s got a bad feeling about it. The bad feeling is mostly connected to the knowledge that Nico is invited to some party at New Year’s and that his ex is going to be there. An ex he broke up with because he was moving here, and who seems to still be interested in him. Not that Nico told him any of this, exactly. He just overheard a conversation at lunch a couple of days before they left. Oh, and it wasn’t even eavesdropping this time, they were all sitting at the same table.

_“So, are you coming to the New Years party at Connor’s place?” Cecil asked Nico and Hazel._

_“No, we’re going home to L.A, for Christmas. We won’t be back until school starts again in January…” Nico said, and Will didn’t miss the “going home” part, which stung a bit. And when Katie asked if they were staying with friends and Nico said they still had their house in LA, Will just felt totally awkward. Yeah. This is a guy whose family owns two houses, who doesn’t care about scholarship money, and dates guys with big SUV:s. He’s obviously so out of Will’s league it’s ridiculous._

_The realization that Nico was leaving made Will’s heart feel hollow as well. He had hoped that perhaps they would get a chance to talk over the holidays. In his fantasy world, Nico would understand about Will having to keep it hidden and would agree to a secret relationship. Oh, and they would find a way to sneak off and kiss at midnight at New Year. In his fantasy world, that is._

_In the real world, Hazel said:_

_“So, speaking of parties Nico, you’d better let Tyler know if you’re coming to his or not. He’s taken to texting me now since you won’t answer.”_

_Something heavy and thick welled up in Will’s throat at the mention of Tyler. He doesn’t even need to ask to know that he’s Nico’s ex. The one with the SUV, he remembers from Halloween. And most likely the very ex he may or may not still be planning to get back together with, if the conversation he had with Mitch is anything to go by._

_And to make matters worse, Katie asked Will if he was coming to Connor’s party, because if he was they could kiss at midnight for old time’s sake since they were both still single. Will tried to catch Nico’s eye to silently tell him that he wasn’t at all interested in kissing Katie, but he was just looking at his plate. Evidently, he was extremely busy taking apart and then reassembling his burger to his liking._

_Will wanted to talk to Nico so badly. To get him alone and tell him to please not get back together with his ex. But it seemed like an impossible mission. Will was wondering if Nico was avoiding him the last days before they left for L.A. And when Will grabbed him to hold him back from going into the car with Hazel on Friday, in desperation, he didn’t seem happy about it._

_“Sorry. I just wanted to wish you a happy Christmas I guess…” Will said nervously, raking a hand through his hair._

_Nico gave him a look he couldn’t decipher. “Thanks. Merry Christmas to you too…”_

_“So… I just wanted you to know, I’m definitely not going to be kissing my ex at New Year’s…” Will declared out of the blue, just needing to say it. He gave Nico a small, hopefully playful smile._

_Nico smiled back, but it looked a little sad. “Good to know Solace. I hope you’ll have a good time anyway!”_

_And there it was. Or rather, wasn’t. Absolutely no promise or even a hint that Nico wouldn’t do exactly that with **his** ex. Or worse. Fuck… _

Blasts of white, hot jealousy still flood Will’s body and claw at his heart when he thinks about it. Hell, Nico is probably driving around in _Tyler’s_ SUV right now, having sex all over the place while Will has to help his mom decorate the Christmas tree and try not to tell her anything of significance about his thoughts or his life. He even texted Nico once, because evidently he’s clingy as hell. But he hasn’t answered. Will fears it’s over before it starts. He fucked up his chance with Nico by waiting too long to come to a decision, and now he’s going to get back with his ex.

When he has finished sulking, he helps his mom hang up the lights in the tree and they make caramel popcorn and watch old Christmas movies. It’s a tradition, and for a short while things feel almost like they are back to normal again. Except for the fact that for the first time in his life, he can relate when his mom cries to old movies where people have their hearts broken. He never understood those stories before, probably because he’s never been in love before. What he’s had with Katie and his other girlfriends has been friendship, or perhaps companionship and convenience. It has never been attraction, and it sure hasn’t been love. Not the romantic kind anyway.

If this is love, it’s a horrible feeling, really, he decides. Why are people wishing for it again?

He meets up with Cecil and Lou Ellen on boxing day and they spend the day playing video games and drinking mulled wine in Cecil’s basement. It’s nice to hang out with his friends like this, but he still manages a small break down when Lou asks if he’s heard from Nico.

“No, and I’m not likely to either… he’s probably back with his ex by now…” Will pouts.

Cecil and Lou share a look and then Lou asks the question she’s probably been dying to. “Hey, were you guys dating? Like, secretly or something?”

Will looks offended. “No. Don’t you think I would have told you? I mean, you’re my best friends…”

“But you’re crushing hard on him right?” Lou asks, popping a little gingerbread heart into her mouth and munching on it loudly.

“Lou…” Cecil scolds, and Will doesn’t know if it’s about her bad table manners or the fact that she just actually said that. Probably the latter, he thinks.

Will’s cheeks burn like fire again, but it’s no use trying to hide the truth from his best friends. “It’s ok… she’s right. I think I am, sort of anyway. And I think I’ve fucked it up,” he says and his eyes sting in an alarming way as he says it. He manages not to cry though. Not that he’s embarrassed to do so, but it would be like admitting defeat.

“So, what happened? Sometimes I get these vibes that you guys are a thing, and then other times it’s like you’re almost avoiding each other on purpose. I’ve been wondering….”

Will flops back on the sofa and groans dramatically - just to underline how much of an awful cliché of teenage angst his life is. Then he tells them the whole story. Not everything Nico has ever said, naturally. But about that magnificent kiss in the car, Nico saying he might wait for Will, his on-and-off behavior over the last two months and then about what Will said - and Nico didn’t - before he left.

“I don’t know,” Lou Ellen says. “I wouldn’t read too much into it. He’s obviously a bit insecure; perhaps he’s worried about you and Katie and doesn’t want to get his hopes up?”

“Or he wanted to make you jealous by letting you think there’s something going on with the ex?” Cecil suggests.

Lou Ellen looks sceptic at this suggestion and gives Will a pained look. “He could have given up on you since you never came out though? I mean, he’s been waiting almost two months now, right?”

Will shrugs. She’s right, though. Nico doesn’t owe him anything. He’s been kind of patient, really, and Will can’t blame him for not wanting to wait longer.

“So, what do I do? Should I write to him?” he asks anxiously.

Lou and Cecil share a look again.

“I think you have to wait for him to get back Will. If he’s insecure, he’s only going to think you’re trying to lead him on to keep him from doing his ex if you send him some lame text. It might have the opposite effect…” Lou says bluntly.

“So, I’m screwed…”

Cecil slaps him on the shoulder. “No, dude. Not necessarily. But there’s nothing you can do right now. I don’t think he will get back with his ex. Worst case, they will fool around at some party or fuck a couple of times. Nico is still coming back here, right? And he broke up with him because he didn’t want to do the distance thing, nothing will have changed there… So even if something happens, maybe you’ll have a chance to win him back when he comes home?”

Will frowns. He doesn’t like the worst case scenario. At all.

“But what if he really just is on a break with the ex? And wants to go back to L.A. first chance?”

“Hey, come on. We’ll go to Connor’s, have fun and not obsess about this, right? It’ll be January in no time, and then you’ll see…” Cecil says.

“I guess…” Will says glumly.

Lou Ellen sighs. “But Will. If you want to be with him you’ve got to talk to him when he gets back. You have to make up your mind about things. I’m not sure Nico would date a guy who’s in the closet…”

“Not even if coming out will mean Will can’t go to college?” Cecil frowns.

“Perhaps, but you’ll have to explain that to him. Perhaps compromise? Like come out to your mum and some more of your friends? To show him you mean it?”

“Aaaaarrrgghhhh….” Will groans, frustration welling over. “Why does it have to be so fucking complicated??”

Cecil pats him on the arm. “Life, man, life…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you so much for reading, commenting and leaving kudos if you feel like it! It warms my heart that people are engaging in this story <3 <3 <3 If you're counting chapters, you probably realize we are closing in on the 3/4 climax buildup now, and I will be keeping my fingers crossed that the way the story develops will be to your satisfaction! :)


	19. Nico

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm back again, with one of the longest Nico chapter in this fic... 
> 
> No particular warnings for this fic, except mild sexual content, but nothing worse than you've already seen in this fic, so... And perhaps a small warning to the readers out there who gets upset when characters they think should be dead aren't ;) Because that's what fan fiction is all about folks, if you think it's sad that a favorite character died, you fix it and say "ha, in your face Rick" ;) (Seriously, I'm sorry Rick, I adore you and I understand why you did it, but since this is a mortal AU there are no evil emperors coming for the poor kids...)
> 
> And as always, thank you so much for commenting and leaving extra kudos, it makes my day! I know I didn't have time to respond to them all this week, but I read them all, smiling...

Nico has missed running at the beach. Or rather, he has missed running at _this_ beach, and he has missed running with Jason. There’s a perfectly adequate beach just outside his new house in Olympus Cove as well, but it’s not the same. The view of the ocean is not the same. It’s too cold at this time of year. It doesn’t smell the same. And most importantly, he’s usually alone. Hazel joins him sometimes, but she usually doesn’t have the patience for the really long runs. Also, Nico loves running with Jason because he doesn’t talk all the time. It’s the perfect mix - company and silence. Sometimes they can just run beside each other for half an hour before sitting down to talk for a bit, drink some water and then turn back.

“So, have you decided if you’re going to come to San Francisco with us over New Year’s?” Jason asks as they sit down on the pier for their water break.

Nico sighs. He hasn’t decided. On the one hand, he wants to see his old school friends, but they are all going to be at Tyler’s party, and Nico is reluctant to go. Even if he feels like he probably should. On the other hand, he wants to hang out with Jason and Piper, and yes, even with Percy and Annabeth. He’s barely seen the two of them since they went to college. But since Reyna has decided to fuck off somewhere over the holidays with Jason’s sister and her friends, it’s going to be just couples, except for him. He doesn’t know if he’ll survive that right now. Perhaps he can just hide in his room and watch old episodes of Buffy and get drunk by himself? That seems like a good plan…

“Nico?” Jason asks again.

“Sorry, zoned out…” he says. “To be honest, I haven’t decided yet. I want to, but I also want to see my friends… and I feel like I should make an appearance at Ty’s party or I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Jason frowns and wipes the sweat from his forehead with the sleeve of his hoodie. “But you guys broke up, right?”

“Yeah…” Nico shrugs and gulps down half the content of his water bottle and gives Jason a guilty look before deciding to tell him the truth. “I mean, we did. But he seems to think it’s just temporary…”

“But you don’t, right?”

Nico shakes his head and lets out a breath before answering. The obstinate part of him wants to protest that it’s not Jason’s decision just because he never liked Tyler. Somehow, his best friend trying to push him away from his ex just makes it seem more interesting to do the opposite, even if he knows Jay only has his best interest in mind. He decides on honesty again. “No. I mean, I’m not planning on getting back with him…”

“Good…” Jason interrupts. “So why do you have to go to his party?”

“I don’t _have_ to. But I want to see my old friends from school and the soccer team… and I want to stay friends with Tyler, so I guess I should talk to him or something. If I just ignore him, he’ll get pissed at me.”

“Ok, fair enough… but you could talk to him another day? You’re going to miss an epic party with your favorite cousins bro…” Jason says and bumps his shoulder.

“Yeah, but everyone I know at said party is part of a couple and I’m single, so...” Nico mutters.

“You know, there’s this guy in my…” Jason starts.

Nico makes a face. “Nope,” he interrupts. “Not happening. No embarrassing blind dates…”

“Come on Nico, you’ve got to live a little…” Jason grins.

“Not interested,” Nico insists.

Jason cocks his head and gives Nico a suspicious look. “Since when do you turn down the opportunity to meet a possibly cute guy when you’re single…?”

Nico rolls his eyes and tries to look inconspicuous. It doesn't work.

“You met someone!” Jason exclaims. “Damn, that’s why you have to talk to Tyler, isn’t it?”

“It’s not like that…” Nico says, but closes his eyes and makes a face when he realizes he’s practically confessed. He’s never getting out of this…

“Come on… talk to me..” Jason pleads.

Nico sighs. He can’t say no to Jason. Jason has always been there for him, like the big brother he never had. He supported him when he came out, when he’s been heart broken, when Bianca left the family, when Hazel showed up and Nico had a hard time dealing with it at first…

“Ok, so…it’s complicated,” he starts.

“Complicated?” Jason asks.

“Yeah. So, there’s this guy…”

Nico ends up telling him the whole story, extending their water break for so long that they will have to start with warm ups again before running back. He tells him about practically falling in love at first sight (although he doesn’t use those words, it would be too corny), pining over what he thought was his straight friend for months, kissing his probably-not-entirely-straight friend, being thrown between hope and doubt for months and finally about leaving things in a really weird place before christmas break.

“And the worst part is,” he explains, “I don’t even know if he really likes me or if he was just using me to test if he’s into guys or not. I’ve been waiting for him to come out so we can be together for two fucking months and he just acts like nothing happened. But he still flirts with me like all the time. I have no idea where we stand or what the fuck he wants from me. I wish he could just come to a decision. Either he wants to be with me or not. I can’t stand this limbo thing...”

Jason gives him a sympathetic smile. “So, have you thought about asking him…”

Nico glares at his friend. No, his second cousin. Who used to be his friend. Not anymore, though, because he’s being very difficult right now...

“I made myself pretty clear. I told him I liked him, and that I would wait for him to figure himself out. I won’t beg…” he says and folds his arms across his chest. He may pout a little. But just a little.

Jason rolls his eyes. “Nico… come on. The poor guy is obviously confused… Let’s say for argument’s sake that he just figured out he’s probably gay because he likes you, ok? But if you’re not interested he might not think it’s worth it to come out yet. Or he hasn’t really figured himself out and needs someone to help him along?”

“I think I made my intentions clear…” Nico mutters.

Jason looks like he’s about to laugh, but thinks the better off it. “I’m sorry Nico, but sometimes you’re not as easy to read as you think… And you tend to send mixed signals when you’re insecure about something.”

Nico glares at him again, but Jason seems to be immune to his death stare. His lips just twitch again. “If I interpret your story correctly, you said something about maybe waiting for him once, after that party, when the guy was drunk? And then you just left the ball in his court?”

“I have flirted back… sometimes…”

“But you’ve also played hard to get and pretended to be indifferent to his charms sometimes, am I right?” Jason says with a fond smile that is just a little too knowing.

Nico makes a face.

“And,” Jason continues, “then you got all jealous that his ex-girlfriend flirted with him and asked him about a party?”

Nico glares again but Jason just cocks his head and smiles in a way that has left “knowing” and ventured into the realms of “patronizing”. “And when the poor guy stopped you to tell you he wasn’t going to get it on with his ex, you just, what? Wished him all the best and let him go?”

“What was I supposed to do? What the hell did he want to tell me with that weird piece of information?”

“Sweet Baby Jesus, Nico. He wanted it to be clear that he’s not interested in his ex because he’s interested in you! He officially passed the ball back onto your court, and you did what? Wished him a Merry Christmas and left?”

Nico shakes his head. “I’ve been waiting for him to make a decision for two fucking months and all I get is a promise that he’s not going to kiss his ex girlfriend? What the fuck is that?”

Jason seems to think about it. “Did you tell him about Tyler’s party?”

“No… I mean, Hazel asked me about it, he might have overheard. Why?”

“So, he was probably worried you’ll get back with your ex, and told you he wouldn’t get back with his, hoping for you to tell him the same thing back…”

“I’m confused…”

Jason shrugs and seems to think about how to explain this very obvious fact to Nico. “I don’t know the guy, but it seems to me he was just trying to tell you he’s still interested and he was hoping for a hint back that you still are too. Perhaps he’s realized he’s made you wait for too long and is afraid he’s lost his opportunity with you…”

Nico frowns. “Do you really think so? So, what do I do about it? I don’t want to risk things getting awkward between us if I’m wrong. Or push him into something he’s not ready for...”

“And he probably worries about the exact same thing!” Jason says, throwing his hands up in defeat. “Look, I still think the best thing you could do is to just fucking ask the guy. But if you don’t want to do that, make sure you are at least sending the right signals so he dares to make a move…”

“Fuck…” Nico groans. Why does everything have to be so complicated?

“Come on,” Jason says. “You can obsess over it on the way back…”

And he does. Yep, he does. But running always clears his head, and by the time they get back he has decided he has to do something about the situation.

Unfortunately, the first thing he has to do is talk to Tyler. He didn’t want to confess this part to Jason, but one reason for his somewhat ambiguous behavior towards Will is that he’s been feeling like he’s cheating on Tyler when things get too intense between them. Or perhaps not cheating exactly, but being dishonest, somehow. Misleading? So, they broke up - but Tyler assumes it’s so they can sleep around with people and that they are going to get back together next year. He didn’t think Nico would actually fall in love with someone else… And for some reason, Tyler seems to be psychic or some shit, because he’s always texting or calling Nico on the days when he’s been flirting with Will, making him feel all bad about it. He has to clear things up with his ex even if it’s going to be painful if he truly wants to feel free to move on.

.oOo.

The music is so loud that Nico can feel the bass beat pounding through his feet before he has even entered Tyler’s house. Of course, Ty has hired some fancy DJ playing the latest club music, and he has to let the world know. Nico suddenly wishes he was sitting in Percy and Annabeth’s apartment with his family and oldest friends instead. Even if it would have meant drinking Percy’s disgusting blue cocktails, enduring Annabeth making them do nerdy quizzes half the night and him having to watch all the happy couples make out.

Nico takes a deep breath and enters the building anyway. Too late to change his mind. And there are people he really wants to see at this party, so he’ll just have to survive the encounter with Ty. It seems like everyone who's anyone is here, not that Nico is surprised. Tyler has never done things half-heartedly - most of the furniture on the ground floor seems to have been moved out and there are disco lights and glittering party decorations spelling out “Happy New Year” in all colors of the rainbow hanging from the roof. Nico wonders how Ty has managed to talk his parents into this, but they are probably on vacation somewhere and have no idea. If he knows his ex boyfriend, he has bribed their employees to help him and not say a word about it.

He makes his way through the crowd and manages to find part of his old soccer team hanging out in a corner behind the bar. It’s pretty hard to have some kind of normal conversation, but he’s happy to see them nonetheless. They manage to exchange some information about their latest games, about Nico’s new team and some other gossip about their common friends. It’s nice to see his old friends, but he can’t help a growing feeling of not fitting in anymore creeping up inside of him. And it’s not just because he’s been out of the loop, it’s the way everything is so superficial and focused on status and money. All the “news” about their peers mainly concern who got what car, a girl in his former class who has managed to score a role as an extra in a big Hollywood production, another guy whose parents evidently have financial trouble and have had to let their housekeeper go (and now he has to do chores. Oh the horror). All in all, things Nico doesn’t care about the slightest.

After a while, he asks if anyone has seen Tyler and when they haven’t he goes looking for his ex boyfriend. Nico knows this is probably not the best time to talk to him, but on the other hand, he’s hosting a party so he won’t make a big scene… Perhaps he can just say hi and show that he sees him as a friend by just acting that way? And then they can meet up another day and talk if Ty wants to? It’s a good plan…

It’s a terrible plan.

When Nico doesn’t find Tyler downstairs, he goes up to his room to see if he is hiding out there. Perhaps he just needed a break? He knocks on the door and enters without waiting for a reply. Nico doesn’t know what he expected to find, but it wasn’t Tyler sprawled out on his bed with his cock down some kid’s throat. Nico says kid, because the guy can’t be more than a freshman at best. He freezes for a second before he gets a grip. He squeaks “sorry” and shuts the door again.

He can hear Tyler cursing from the other side.

A million thoughts race through his mind as he leans against the wall outside and sighs. He doesn’t know why, but he feels angry as fuck. Why is he angry? He wanted to break up, right? He doesn’t want Tyler any longer, so why should he be mad about him doing someone else? Is he jealous after all? Perhaps a little - it’s always hard to see your ex lover with someone else, even if you were the one who wanted to end things - but mostly he’s mad because Tyler has made him feel bad about crushing on Will, and he has been pestering Nico about coming to the party, only to spend it getting off with some other guy.

It takes about thirty seconds before the door bangs open again, and the kid flees down the corridor, evidently kicked out.

“Nico…” Tyler calls out, desperately looking around for him. “Fuck, there you are. I’m sorry, it’s not what it looked like… please, come in and talk to me.”

Nico sighs and tries to gather his thoughts. Part of him just wants to tell Tyler to fuck off and leave. He could blame everything on Ty and play the wounded lover… It would be a really easy way out of this relationship, guilt free, once and for all. But on the other hand, if he wanted to destroy their friendship, he could have done so long ago. This was about saving it, even if Nico is pissed off as fuck right now. He probably should be awarded some kind of prize for keeping his head (reasonably) cold in this situation...

He follows Tyler inside and flops down in the armchair in the corner. He doesn’t feel like sitting on Tyler’s bed right now… “Ty, it’s ok. You don’t owe me any explanations…” he says.

Tyler frowns and looks like he’s thinking hard about what to say. “I know… I mean, we said we could see other people, but I didn’t mean for you to walk in on that. I wouldn’t even have done it if I had known you were coming…” he sighs and studies Nico carefully. “I thought you weren’t going to show and I was hurt and a bit mad. And horny… and, well… you know how it is. Ethan offered and...well… I mean, it’s nothing serious. I promise!”

“Ty… It’s ok. Really. I think we should be just friends anyway. I’ve sort of met someone too…” Nico confesses sheepishly.

It’s quiet for a long while. Tyler looks like he wants to scream but thinks the better of it. When he opens his mouth he sounds more sad than angry. “You met someone? Like, as in you’re dating someone or you’re fucking someone?”

Nico heaves a deep sigh and thinks about how to explain. “Neither…” he says. “But I have this crush on one of my teammates, and… well, not much has happened yet, but I was considering pursuing it... See if it leads somewhere.“

“Nic… don’t... “ Tyler says, looking a bit like he's about to cry. Fuck, Nico hopes not, he can’t handle crying people. “Please, don’t do something stupid because I fooled around with someone a couple a times. It means nothing, I swear. You and I, we’ve got a future. Think about it Nico. You’ll only be in New York for another six months, then you’re coming back, right?”

Nico doesn’t meet his eyes, and he suddenly feels terrible for not coming clean sooner. Not that it had been a lie, coming back had been his initial plan back when his dad told him about moving. But that was more than a year ago, and he was upset at the time. Now things are different. He likes New York, as it turns out. Perhaps not the climate, but the people he has gotten to know there. He likes the city. And Hazel has at least another year…

“I haven’t decided yet…” he tells Tyler, “but I’ve applied to Columbia as well. I don’t want to leave Hazel alone and… well. I like it up there. I don’t know if I’ll be coming back to California anytime soon Ty.”

Nico knows for a fact that Tyler can’t imagine moving from California, and perhaps this is a low blow, blaming the distance. Nico has in fact applied to Berkley as well, and some other places, but right now, he leans toward staying in New York. And even if he doesn’t, he can always use it as an excuse not to get back with Tyler. He knows he’s a coward for not telling his ex that he just doesn’t feel that way about him anymore (if he ever did), but he tells himself he’s just trying to let Ty down easily.

“You’re serious…? Nico…? You’re not coming back, are you?” Tyler asks, frowning.

“I’m sorry… I hope we can still be friends?”

Tyler says nothing for a while, before claiming he has to go back to the party. Nico hardly speaks with him again for the rest of the evening. He thinks it probably could have gone better, but also worse, so… When he leaves, he finds his ex and gives him a long hug and tells him they will stay in contact. He’s not sure that’s what Tyler wants to be honest, but he has to try. It’s too sad to lose him forever. They were friends first, after all. Perhaps with time? It’s supposed to heal all wounds, after all...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, now Nico is free and they have both decided to give it a go, so all is well, right? OR IS IT? *looking at the remaining eight chapters with evil grin on my face* Moahahahaha


	20. Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there lovely readers! I'm on a roll with editing and posting here, as I can't wait to get the interesting part of this story out there! (Although this chapter took me hours just to edit, it was more of a mess than I remembered, ha ha) 
> 
> I'm so nervous about your reactions, since some of you have called this fic a roller coaster already, but well. To use some old fashioned clichés - time to fasten your seat belts, we are expecting some major turbulence ahead... But fear not, in my world, everything always ends with sunshine and rainbows, because if I want tragedy, all I need to do is to turn on the news! (I don't have to read three badly written books just to see all the characters I actually liked die... Yes, I'm looking at you Divergent ;) )

“Stop procrastinating and get back to your duty!”

Will jerks in surprise when Katie sneaks up behind him, and he tears his eyes away from his almost meditative study of the way the strands of hair falling out of Nico’s messy ponytail curl against his long, pale neck and fights against the blush he can feel spreading across his cheeks... Hopefully Katie just thinks he’s staring out into space. He takes in the room around him instead, bustling with people working hard on various Valentine’s decorations, the majority of which seem mostly finished. And he can’t for the life of him understand why anyone would need more paper hearts than are already strewn across the table in front of him and Nico.

“Come on Katie, it’s almost a month until the dance...” he complains.

Katie gives them what is probably supposed to be a stern glare, but her eyes twinkle with mirth. “Yes, but I want this to be perfect. And perfection takes time…”

When she turns around Will and Nico share a look and both start smiling, which makes something warm well up inside of Will.

Even if he is complaining about the preparations, he’s secretly happy about being back in Katie’s good graces. The reason might be because she needs the soccer team to help out with decorations for the Valentine's dance. But he doesn’t care. Anything that can make her forgive him for the disaster at Connor’s New Year’s party will do as far as he’s concerned. Or, well, Will still doesn’t understand why it was so bad. Katie wanted them to kiss at midnight, Will didn’t since they are supposed to be friends and he didn’t want to make things weird. But evidently, things got weird, and Katie was more than frosty towards him the first week back at school. She didn’t even show up at Will’s birthday party (if you can even call going out for pizza with your soccer team a party). Now, she seems to have thawed a bit though and Will can relax around her again.

Nico has also been much more relaxed around him ever since he came back from L.A. They never talked about why Nico was being so dismissive before Christmas break and Will still has no idea what happened. But he won’t bring it up. Perhaps it was nothing and he was just reading too much into the fact that Nico didn’t promise not to kiss his ex. Which was a stupid thing to ask for, really. It doesn’t seem to matter much now that Nico and Will are on friendlier (meaning flirtier) terms than ever. They have studied together, done extra soccer drills just the two of them, and Will has noticed that Nico touches him a lot more than before, and flirts with him almost constantly. To be honest, it’s a miracle nobody has noticed, but Will can’t even bring himself to care. He’s so happy that he’s walking on little clouds.

Which is fitting, since they are working on some kind of angel-theme for the dance. To be fair, Will and Nico are probably messing around more than they are actually working with what they are supposed to do, which is to punch out little heart shapes from pink paper - the only job Katie has trusted them with, remembering the great paper flower fiasco of Homecoming.

“Oh, look. Not even the two of you can mess up using a paper punch…” she jokes as she comes by again to inspect their progress and actually finds a small heap of pink hearts in front of them. She has dressed up in a white toga with wings and a gloria to match. Evidently, they are trying on outfits for the dance.

Will wolf whistles. “Wow. Sexy angel?” he says and Katie smacks him on the head with an arrow she produces from behind her back.

“I’m supposed to be a female Cupid… helping people find love, you know?”

“Oh. Of course. My bad.” Will apologizes with a small bow.

Katie gives Nico a big paper heart and tells him to hold it in front of his chest and look like he’s struck with love. She signals to Will behind his back to take a picture, so he does. He manages to catch Nico with a dramatic swooning expression while Katie aims the arrow at his big fake heart.

“Oh my goodness, that’s the most adorable thing I’ve ever seen…” Will says, holding his phone up to look at the picture.

Nico points his heart shaped crafts punch at Will, muttering under his breath. “Swear to God, if you call me adorable again I _will_ stab you… possibly with something a bit more threatening than this.”

Will snickers and sends the picture to Nico and Katie. “Here you go - the perfect picture to advertise the dance on the school blog…”

“You wouldn’t dare…” Nico says, but without heat. He snags Katie’s gloria and presses it down on Will’s head, taking a picture of him in return that he threatens to post on the blog if Will posts his. They bicker back and forth until Katie smacks them both on the back of their heads and tells them to get back to work. To be honest, Will thinks it’s a miracle if she hasn’t noticed them flirting, but it might even be for the best since he has decided Katie is one of the people he should come out to first if he’s going to start telling people he trusts. She’s not going to be happy if she hears it from someone else… She probably still won’t be happy though. Something cold and uncomfortable twists in his stomach at this thought, but it’s forgotten as soon as Nico flashes him one of his cute lopsided smiles again.

When Will looks at his phone a while later, Nico has sent him the picture he took. And a text.

<<From: Nico...>> Look at you with your blond angel curls... you should not go around calling other people names when you’re the adorable one ;)

He can’t stop a stupid grin from splitting his face when he reads it. And when Will looks at the picture, he can almost see the hearts in his eyes as he looks at Nico through the camera lens.

Nico gives him a ride home after the decorations are all done. The tension is heavy in the car, after all the flirting and “accidental” touching they have been engaging in this afternoon. And now Will is suddenly very aware of the fact that they are alone in a car. He wonders if Nico is also thinking about the last time they were alone in a car, after the Halloween party...

Will’s heart is pounding madly as Nico parks outside his building and their eyes meet, ready to say goodbye. Only, Will isn’t ready to say goodbye. He doesn’t want this day to end. Doesn’t want Nico to leave.

He clears his throat and looks away. “Hey, so… my mum’s working tonight if you want to come up for a bit?”

“Ok.” Nico says, his voice somehow managing to crack on a two syllable word.

They are quiet in the elevator on the way up. Quiet as Will unlocks the door and drops his bag in the hallway. Mostly quiet as Will shows Nico around. It’s a quick tour. Not much to see, really. Living room, kitchen… Will’s room.

It takes about three seconds after they step into Will’s room before they have landed on the bed wrapped around each other, kissing as if their lives depended on it.

And Will is in heaven. _So, this is what making out is supposed to be like…?_ Nico’s lips are soft and warm. His tongue is hot and demanding as it feels it’s way around Will’s mouth. He thinks he can’t ever get enough of this. He just wants more. More tongue, more lips, more kissing and sucking and biting and touching. More of Nico’s musky scent and the familiar smell of his vanilla pomegranate shampoo that Will has become used to from the locker room. His cock fills out at once, straining against his jeans, demanding friction. His whole body is throbbing with raw, pure _want_. Yeah. He’s definitely not ace.

He just has to feel more of Nico. Feel him skin against skin. He’s waited so long, wanting for so long, he realizes. He snakes his hands under Nico’s t-shirt, feeling the smooth, hard body underneath. Nico seems to get it. He tears the thing off, and unbuttons Will’s shirt until their naked chests press together. Nico presses his thigh between Will’s legs, rubbing his erection lightly. _Oh fuck…_ He moans loudly, and it would have been embarrassing if he hadn’t felt Nico’s hard cock twitch against his hip in reaction to his sounds. Nico has tangled his one hand into Will’s hair and uses the other to squeeze his ass firmly. It’s going to take a miracle for Will not to come in his pants within the next minute or so if Nico keeps doing this.

He pulls away slightly, and misses the urgent heat of Nico’s mouth at once. But he has to say something. “Wait… you’re going to have to slow down or this is going to be over before it starts…” he pants in Nico’s ear, feeling too embarrassed to look his lover in the eyes.

“Ok… so. What do you want?” Nico asks, his voice thick and raspy.

What does he want? He has no idea. It’s not like he planned this… He just knows he doesn’t want it to stop.

“I don’t know… but I don’t want it to be over yet. I mean. Perhaps we should go slow tonight. Not all the way…? I mean, I’m not that experienced so…” he stutters, looking shyly at Nico from under the locks that fall into his forehead.

“But you do want to… do this? With me?” Nico says, continuing to rub against Will’s erection, a little more slowly this time.

Will moans again and his heart almost stops when he sees Nico’s predatory smile.

“Hell, yeah,” he pants, barely able to form words. “Whatever you want. Feels so fucking good. Want you so much...”

Nico nuzzles his nose into Will’s hair and whispers in his ear. “Are you sure? If we do this, I don’t want it to be your dirty little secret…”

Will knocks their heads together as he tries to sit up and make sense of what Nico is saying. “Huh?”

Nico looks at him, more guarded this time. “I mean, it’s not a casual hook-up for me, and like I said before, I don’t want to be an experiment…”

“It’s not. I’m sure about this… I just thought that we… I hoped maybe you were ok with keeping a low profile?”

“Yeah. So you can keep your precious image as a straight, A-list dude…” he says dryly and pulls away from Will.

Will freezes as the hot, throbbing arousal is suddenly replaced with cold fear. This is not going the way he had planned it at all. Perhaps it’s because he didn’t plan, as usual. He just jumped Nico like a stupid, love sick idiot the first chance he got, without explaining about his plans to start coming out to a select few people until he has secured his scholarship. His eyes desperately seek Nico’s warm, dark gaze, but the other boy doesn’t meet them. Instead, he has withdrawn from Will and crossed his arms dismissively over his chest, chin stubborn, jaw set and mouth stretched into a tight line. _Fuck…_ Will struggles to find the words that will get them back to where they were just a minute ago.

“No. I mean. The thing is, it’s not about image. I just can’t come out officially yet since...” he starts explaining, but he doesn’t get further before Nico interrupts him.

“Ok, I get it, so you thought I would be happy to be your dirty little secret…” Nico says in a dry, short tone, pulls his shirt back over his head and adjusts his jeans as he gets up from the bed.

“Nico…” Will begs, pleading for him to understand. To hear him out.

He doesn’t. His eyes flash dangerously as he cuts Will off again. “You know Solace, you take such pride in always being a gentleman and making sure all girls are treated respectfully. What makes you think it’s ok to treat me like shit just because I’m a guy?”

He is out of the door before Will can say another word, slamming it behind him with emphasis.

_Fuck._

_Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck…_

Will lets his frustration out in a loud roar and punches a hole right through the door to his wardrobe with his fist. It hurts. Shit. His mom won’t be happy about this. Well, she can just join the “let’s hate Will Solace club” then. He’s heard they are open for new members…

When he calms down, he writes Nico a text, hoping the other man has cooled off enough to at least give him a chance too.

<<To: Nico...>> I’m so sorry Nico. It’s not casual sex for me either. I’m crazy about you! I’m not ready to come out yet, but it’s not for the reason you think… if you’d just let me explain <3

He adds the picture Nico took of him earlier and tags it with “Look, I’m adorable, you know you want to forgive me...”

Then he throws himself down on the bed and wonders when he turned into such a fucking wuss? Probably when he fell madly in love with the sexiest, funniest, most beautiful guy on earth… Hell, he doesn’t know what he is going to do if Nico doesn’t want to hear him out.

And what if Nico only wants to be with him if he’s out and proud anyway? Will thinks he would understand if he knew about the scholarship he has all but landed, and that he can’t risk his future over this… affair? Relationship? Love? Fuck. Aren’t people supposed to be willing to sacrifice everything for love? But if they were, couldn’t Nico also make a sacrifice and wait a couple of months for Will to come out, so he can have a shot at going to college? Why is he the only one who should make sacrifices? No, Nico has to understand, he reasons. It’s only a few more months. Once he has landed the scholarship and started college, it will be harder for them to take it back if he comes out, he reasons. Probably not impossible, but that’s a risk he will have to take. He can’t hide for years and years in college. It would drive him mad. He agrees with Lee on that, at least.

Lee… The instant he thinks about his older brother he feels relief washing through him. Lee will know what to do, he can talk to him! He calls his brother the old fashioned way, using his actual phone, and breaks down in hysterics in the most embarrassing way possible. Luckily, his brother is a gem and doesn't even question why Will is such a mess.

“Hey, calm down…” Lee says when he has told him what happened. “He’s going to come around when he gets some time to think about it, I’m sure…”

“I don’t know Lee. He’s kind of stubborn and proud sometimes. And he just lost it when I hinted about keeping it low profile… He wouldn’t even listen to me.”

“Yeah, but you don’t know his whole story… Perhaps there’s some baggage there? You say he’s out and proud, but you don’t know what things were like at his old school, or how he came out? Perhaps he has been burned before…”

“Oh. Didn’t think about that. He just seems so secure about things,” Will confesses sheepishly.

Lee sighs audibly into the phone, probably trying to bite back the urge to call Will out on being an idiot. “Perhaps now, but there are few people who are out in high school who have never had to go through shit, believe me. The stories I’ve heard from some friends…” he says and launches into some examples.

When he has finished talking to Lee, he feels a bit better. And a bit like a jerk. What if it’s true and someone has treated Nico badly in the past? And Will just dragged that up without even trying to see things from Nico’s point of view. _Way to go being egocentric Solace_ , he scolds himself.

Just as he is finished beating himself up, there’s a text from Nico.

<<To: Nico...>> Ok. You’ve got one chance to explain. 11 am, tomorrow at the waffle house. We'll have time to talk before the game.

Will falls asleep with a smile on his lips. Perhaps all is not lost after all?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And as always, thank you so much to everyone who actually bothered to leave kudos or comments. It's what writers feed on to survive, just like vampires need blood...


	21. Nico

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there again all you amazing readers out there! I'm sorry if this chapter is disappointingly short... and a bit angsty. It is a bit of a filler, I'm aware, but there is some backstory from Nico's pov. I had wanted to include another scene, but I have had a couple of really shitty days where I haven't slept at night and I have been more or less in a zombie state for three days now. Just trying to edit this short thing has been an effort, l tell you, so please go easy on me. I wanted to at least give you something, right!? Hopefully, the next one will be up soon as it should be more or less finished if I remember correctly :)
> 
> As always, thank you all for all the support along the way!

Nico practically flies down the stairs and dashes out to the car in what feels like a millisecond. He flings the door open and throws himself inside so quickly he hits his knees on the steering wheel. But it doesn’t matter. A little pain feels good and helps him press back the bile rising in his throat for a bit longer. He takes off practically standing on the gas pedal, without even fastening his seatbelt and the car protests loudly with an annoying _ding, ding, ding_. He wishes he had his motorbike, or one of his dad’s cars. The dramatic effect is somehow lost in the absence of the loud sound of a violent engine roar. Screw electric cars! But the acceleration is impressive at least and it feels a little like flying off in a silent batmobile when he presses the gas pedal down as hard as he can. The ringing in his ears is loud enough to make up for the loss of sound from the engine anyway. Ha. He drives about three blocks before he realizes he almost cannot focus on the road in front of him. He slows down to park at the side of the street, and bangs his head down hard on the steering wheel.

 _Fuck_. He’s such a fucking idiot. It’s like with Liam all over again, and this time, Nico hasn’t even gotten one single fucking orgasm out of the scam of a (not)relationship. (Unless you count the endless number he’s helped himself to, imagining those gorgeous lips around his cock.) He has only spent over three months waiting for a guy who obviously doesn’t like him enough to go out with him officially. He wonders what the hell Solace even wants? It can hardly be a record deal he’s after, like Liam was. And even if the guy doesn’t exactly seem like he’s well off, Nico can’t imagine him to be the type to screw somebody over for money.

 _So, what if he really likes you but is just too scared to come out?_ A tiny voice whispers in his head. He laughs bitterly. Yeah. Right. Solace doesn’t seem like a coward, and he’s got enough queer friends for support. Sure, Nico gets that it can be scary. Perhaps his mom isn’t all that progressive? But still, is he the kind of man to hide in the closet for the rest of his life? Hardly! He’s going to come out waving an enormous rainbow flag the moment he meets someone who he thinks is worth it… And it’s obviously not Nico. Because, why would it be? Fuck…

Nico hasn’t thought about the Liam incident in months. Not even when Will told him he was interested, but needed to figure himself out first. It was just tonight, when Will said those words, that the similarities hit him like a freight train.

_I hoped maybe you were ok with keeping a low profile?_

It was almost exactly the same thing his fucking stupid ex-ex boyfriend had said when they had started dating. He wanted to go slow. Keep a low profile… His family didn’t know he was gay and he was afraid of what his abusive father would do if he told them. Yeah. Sob story of the fucking century and Nico had fallen for it like the idiot he was. In hindsight, he realized he should probably have been suspicious about the fact that the guy he was dating was more interested in meeting his family than in having sex with Nico. Even so, it didn’t make the disappointment feel less real the day it stood clear that not even dating the son of the owner would land Liam’s band a contract with DOA, and Liam dumped him like yesterday’s soggy old fries, only to come out two months later when he met a guy he actually liked.

 _Will seems to be attracted to you though, if the reaction of his dick is anything to go by…_ the small voice in his head says, but he waves it away. So, is it better if the only thing the guy wants is sex? No thanks. Nico isn’t interested in that, at least not with someone he’s desperately in love with. It would be a disaster waiting to happen - not even Nico is that stupid.

Nico slams the door behind him with such emphasis when he gets home that Hazel bolts down the stairs to find out what has happened at once. Luckily, his dad and Persephone are out for the night, and neither Jules Albert nor Rosa would dare confront him and ask why he’s thrown a hissy fit. They are probably asleep anyway.

One hour and several steaming mugs of hot chocolate later, Nico has explained most of what has happened to Hazel.

“So, now what?” Hazel asks, one eyebrow raised.

Nico lifts one shoulder in a small shrug and swirls the remains of his chocolate around in the mug. “Now nothing, I guess… I’m done waiting for a guy who doesn’t want people to know I’m with him…”

“But he sent you that text claiming to have an explanation, right?”

Nico snorts. “Pfft... explanation… lame excuse is more like it, and I don’t want to hear it anyway,” he says stubbornly

His sister gives him a very tired look and rolls her eyes. “So, you can sit here and wallow in self pity, behaving like a child, or you can actually talk to the guy like a normal human being and find out what he has to say before you decide that the whole world is conspiring against you personally…”

“You know what they say; it’s not paranoia if they are really out to get you, right?” Nico can’t help his lips from twitching slightly, in spite of it all.

Hazel squeezes his hand and gives him a fond half smile, her stubborn glare softening into a more troubled look. “Come on, just because you were burnt once… or maybe twice… It doesn’t mean all guys are idiots Nico. Or that you don’t deserve to be loved or something stupid,” she argues. “Think about Tyler. Or think about Jason and Frank and, well, sorry, but Percy… and all the other genuinely great guys we know. I think Will is one of them. There’s bound to be a story there. One that you’ll want to hear before throwing your chance with him away…”

In the end, Nico reluctantly sends Will a text promising to meet up the next day to talk, and Hazel forces him to go to bed with the argument that he needs sleep before the game and his talk with Will. He lies awake for a long time though, wrapped up like a burrito in his duvet the way he prefers when he’s feeling a bit unstable, but sleep still eludes him. He tries to tell himself that he deserves love, like Hazel said, but it’s hard to believe. Thinking about Tyler only brings him a horrible sense of guilt. Fuck, perhaps he should have just stayed with him and tried to make the distance thing work? At least he worshipped the ground Nico walked on, and he was never mean or had hidden agendas. So what if he could be a narcissistic brat sometimes? And so what if Nico wasn’t madly in love with the guy? At least he made him feel...wanted. Safe. Not even walking in on Tyler in the middle of getting head at the party made him doubt that his ex actually would have chosen Nico, given the opportunity.

Will Solace, on the other hand, makes Nico feel more vulnerable and unwanted right now than he has ever done before in his life. And that is saying something since his experience with unrequited love and humiliation doesn’t end with the Liam incident. There’s also the embarrassing crush he nursed for way too many years on his second cousin Percy - the one that led to him being outed on Valentine’s day all those years ago.

Nico had been fourteen and still figuring himself out when a jealous girl found some cringy old love poems that he had written when he was like twelve in his room. She had invited herself over to do a project for school and Nico had been too oblivious to realize she was aiming for something completely different than being study buddies. Somehow, she managed to go through his stuff when he didn’t pay attention and as a revenge for being rejected or some shit she stole his diary and sent Percy a very embarrassing, very public, Valentine in Nico’s name. The worst part wasn’t even the outing, it was Percy finding out about Nico’s crush and being all awkward and apologetic. Gods, Nico still wants to die a little when he thinks about it.

And still, even taking that into consideration, the present situation is probably the worst any love affair gone awry has ever made him feel. The difference is probably that whereas his adolescent crush on Percy had been a combination of a childish infatuation and idolization of his older relative, what he feels for Will is so much more real. And, apparently, real means it hurts a hell of a lot more.

 _Fuck real,_ Nico thinks bitterly before he drifts off into an unruly sleep, silently wishing for his dreams to be more pleasant.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am aware of the fact that some of you expected to be Percy who had been the one burning Nico in the past, but I'm a faithful percabeth shipper and I also couldn't see Percy being an asshole like that, so I made up another very minor OC, hope that doesn't complicate things too much for you, it won't be more important than this in the story anyway so you can forget about him again if you want to, ha ha


	22. Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright folks, I am back! I had hoped to get this up several days ago, but the editing was murderous as I realized I had been a bit too sloppy when I wrote it. It also contains some of the things I find most difficult to write (I'll tell you in the end notes, no spoilers here). But a warning is perhaps due that this chapter is a bit of an emotional rollercoaster - yes, we're at peak dramatics and shit is about to go down ;) 
> 
> But I feel safe, because nobody knows where I live, moahahaha *Posting and running*
> 
> (seriously though, I'm not lying about the eventual happy ending tag, don't worry!)
> 
> This time, I almost finished editing the next chapter as well, because I don't want to leave you hanging for too long at this part of the story. Oh, and I've "ordered" an illustration for the last chapter, so it can't be posted before it's finished, but I'm so excited about it...

Will wakes up panting from a very intense dream, mostly centered around lean muscles, pale olive skin, dark eyes and warm, wet lips… He keeps his eyes closed, riding out the last waves of pleasure while he lets the dream slip away and comes back to reality. He smiles when he remembers that today is the last game the talent scouts will visit, and then the contract will hopefully be signed. If he can just fix things with Nico before, everything is going to be perfect…

Later, Will is going to think about how people in movies and books always get a bad feeling when something is about to go horribly wrong. Evidently, his sixth sense needs fixing because he does not see it coming.

It starts with a knock on his door.

HIs mom sticks her head inside giving him a faint smile. “Will… Lou Ellen is here to see you,” she says, but there’s a question in her tone. He looks at the clock on the bedside table. 10 am already. Shit. He has to hurry if he’s going to get all his soccer gear in order and make it to the waffle house by 11. He jumps out of bed and tugs on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt.

“Let her in,” he says.

“But Will, you’re half dressed at best…”

Will rolls his eyes. “Chill mom, she’s just a friend.”

His mom looks suspiciously at him but walks out with a promise to make breakfast.

“Hey, Lou… I’m kind of in a rush? I’m meeting Nico before the game…” he says when he hears her enter, head still stuck in his wardrobe, gathering his things together.

“Did something happen between the two of you?” Lou asks, and something in her voice makes Will stop and turn around. She’s fidgeting and her forehead is scrunched up into a tense frown.

“Yeah, I mean… We had a bit of a falling out yesterday, but we decided to talk it out?” It’s a question more than an answer. He can’t for the life of him figure out what Lou knows about this. She can’t possibly have met Nico since midnight yesterday, right?

“Will, I…” she starts but seems to lose her thread. She takes a deep breath. “There’s no easy way to say this, but I think you should check the school blog before talking to Nico…”

Will’s heart pounds madly against his ribcage. “Why? What happened?”

“I don’t know Will. I don’t want to think he did it, but if you said you had a falling out with him…?” Lou says unhelpfully. Obviously, something is very wrong and Lou doesn’t know what to make of it. He doesn’t want to press her further. Instead he picks up his phone with trembling hands and opens the blog.

And there it is - the stupid picture he sent Nico last night with him in the gloria posted on the school blog and tagged with _: Did you know your closeted gay team captain is sleeping around with his players?_ Under it is a screenshot of the text he sent Nico last night, where he tells Nico it isn’t just about sex and that he is crazy about him.

Shit. _Shit, shit shit..._

At first, he just wants to run off to meet Nico and punch him in the face, but Lou advises against it. He’s in too much shock to even be embarrassed and think about what people will say. He’s just furious with Nico. So, this was all he meant to the guy? One hint about maybe not wanting to go public, and he’s outed without so much as a chance to explain?

“I’m still not sure it was Nico though, Will...” Lou says tentatively, a deep frown between her brows. “It just doesn’t seem like a thing he would do…”

Will’s mind is spinning, both with fury and with the faint hope that perhaps there’s another explanation. He really, really doesn’t want it to be Nico. It can’t be Nico. And yet, how else could this have happened? He sighs heavily and meets Lou’s eyes, all the anger somehow slipping away, leaving him tired and resigned.

“I know Lou, but there’s just no other possibility,” he says. “I sent him the text late last night when he was on his way home. The only person who could have accidentally seen the text is Hazel, and that’s just laughable. She has no reason to be mad at me, and Nico had no reason to send it to someone else unless he _wanted_ to out me…”

Lou Ellen is chewing her lip, still in deep thought. “But think about it - he’s sort of hanging himself out as well with this, implying he’s slept his way to a position on the team?”

“It could be a strategy to make us think it was someone else?” Will suggests. “And nobody who has seen Nico play would believe that anyway.”

“I guess we don’t know him all that well, but I’m usually such a good judge of character…” Lou says, but she doesn’t sound convinced.

“Yeah,” Will agrees. He doesn’t know what to think, but he has to voice the thing that worries him right now. The one little factor that makes him believe Nico could have done this to him. The thing that makes him question if he really knows Nico at all. “...but I’ve never been on his shit list before as far as I know - or seen how he reacts when someone hurts him? You should have seen him lose his shit when he got mad yesterday, storming off in rage… He was like a different person.”

Will tells Lou the whole story about what happened the night before, but she still doesn’t want to believe Nico could have done it. Will doesn’t want to either, but there’s just no other reasonable explanation. Not even Lou can think of one.

“I mean, let’s say he didn’t do it and someone hacked his phone, or jumped in his window to steal it in the night… wouldn’t he be standing here right now telling me about it?”

At half past eleven, he gets a text from Nico, making him almost sick with nerves as he opens it.

<<From: Nico>> Are we talking or not Solace?

 _Are we talking or not?_ Will’s anger flares up like a roaring fire and he is suddenly so furious at this complete lack of an explanation he answers before Lou can stop him.

<<To: Nico>> After what you just did? You can go to hell for all I care...

.oOo.

If there’s one thing Will doesn’t want to do right now, it’s play soccer.

“Not one fucking word” he declares loudly as he enters the locker room before the game. “I’ll do questions and accusations later, but right now, I really need us to play this game and play it well, ok?”

Nobody says a word.

Will isn’t team captain for nothing. He’s usually easy going and joking around, but when he puts his foot down, people tend to respect him. Not even Eric says anything. He just nods when Will tells him to kit up and prepare to start today. And that’s when the others seem to realize they are one player short. To Will, Nico’s absence is noticeable like a hole in the head. He can’t say he’s surprised, but he’s still mad as hell. First the guy outs him in the worst possible way, and now he doesn’t even show up to the game, leaving Will hanging with the fucking talent scouts sitting on the bench. He’s going to think about kicking Nico’s fucking groin every time he hits the ball today. Yeah.

Eric is a decent midfielder, and he does his best to show his worth in Nico’s absence, Will has to give him that. It’s not enough for a win though, which to be fair, isn’t all on him. Will thinks he manages to push his own problems aside rather successfully, but he can’t say he’s on top of his game either. He still thinks they did ok. It’s a draw, and Will scored one goal and made one assist.

It’s not enough to please the talent scout though. He knows it as soon as he sees coach Chiron’s face after the game. He doesn’t even curse or scream or cry, everything is just cold and numb inside of him. Coach puts a comforting arm around him and says he’s sorry - Will probably isn’t going to get the scholarship; the competition is fierce and the scout wasn’t happy with the result today. Coach doesn’t meet Will’s eyes when he explains it and he knows that it’s a lie. He knows in his heart that this has nothing to do with the game he just played. The whole crowd had been buzzing with the news from the school blog and there’s no way the scouts missed it. Will doesn’t bother to point this out. It wouldn’t change anything, and there’s no way to prove it anyway...

Cecil gives him a hug, but says nothing. What can he say? There is nothing to say. It’s over. His fucking life is over.

He sits on the bleachers for a long time, surrounded by the smell of stale popcorn, sweat and dirty grass. He’s just not able to face the others at the moment.

And that’s where Katie finds him. He thinks, at first, that she has come as his friend; that she wants to comfort him. But the warmth he feels for her in his heart drains away as soon as she opens her mouth.

“Did you sleep with him behind my back the whole time?” she all but screams at him.

Will yanks his head up in surprise. “What? No. We’ve just kissed, but it was long after you and I broke up…”

“Well, that’s not what your text implies...” she snaps, folding her arms.

“Perhaps you shouldn’t believe everything you read on the internet then,” he bites back with a scowl. He can sort of understand why Katie is upset, but he doesn’t have any patience left for this bullshit right now. “We kissed, we talked about going further, he didn’t want to unless I came out, I didn’t want to come out, he got pissed and left. I sent the text, end of story.”

“So, why didn’t you come out? I thought you were mr Open Minded himself. Funny you should be the one lying to us all the time. Kind of a different story when it’s your own life, right?” she scoffs.

“Katie, for fuck’s sake.” he growls back. He can’t deal with this right now. Just can’t. She almost looks taken aback by his unusual display of wrath so he continues screaming just for good measure. “I just realized I was gay for fuck’s sake. It’s not like I knew before! And you know why I couldn’t come out right away!”

“What? Why?”

“Fuck, Katie. The scholarship…”

“And what has that got to do with anything?”

“Have you ever heard of a gay kid receiving a sports scholarship? No? You won’t today either, because they withdrew it…”

Katie pales and seems to forget how mad she is at him for a second. “What? They can’t do that… Shit, I’m so sorry Will!”

“Yeah, well. It’s not your fault so… If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go drown myself in the showers before I start my career working my way up to employee of the month at K-mart while you’re all off to college…”

“Will…” she calls after him, but he just waves her off. He can’t talk to anyone right now.

He stands under the shower for so long he thinks he may have used up all the hot water on this side of the Atlantic.

Everyone but Cecil has left when he gets out. They sit in silence for a while before Cecil asks if he wants to go to the waffle house with him and Lou.

“Our treat, man. We will try to drown your sorrows in chocolate…” he says.

Will loves his friends. Well, the few he has left anyway. But he just wants to be alone right now, so he asks for a ride home instead.

When they get out to the parking lot, Hazel is standing there, leaning against her car and talking to Lou Ellen. She gives them a stern glance and Lou Ellen hops into her Beetle, followed by Cecil. Which leaves Will alone with Nico’s sister. Fuck…

“I heard about your scholarship. I’m sorry…” she says.

Will just shrugs. He tries not to project his anger at her. She was hardly the one posting that text on the blog…

“Nico didn’t know about that, you know. Or he probably wouldn’t have given you such a hard time about staying in the closet…” she continues.

Will’s anger flares so quickly tiny, red spots dance across his field of vision. “Well, that didn’t give him the right to..” he starts but Hazel just holds up a hand in his face. Her eyes flash dangerously.

“You think very, very carefully about how you want to end that sentence now. Perhaps listen to me first?”

Will is stunned into silence. All he manages is to raise his eyebrows at her.

“Now,” she continues. “If you dare to think, even for one second, that Nico posted that text on the blog, then you don’t deserve to come anywhere near him ever again…”

A mix of hope, doubt and anger whirls around his mind. “Then who…?”

“I have no goddamn idea Will. No idea. I just know for a fact that Nico didn’t do it.”

“Ok, but you don’t know how mad he was with me…”

She laughs dryly. “Oh, I know exactly how mad he was. I was on the receiving end of his rant when he got home, you see. But first of all, the post was published at half past eleven pm, and at the time I was still sitting with Nico in the kitchen convincing him to give you the chance to explain yourself. And even if that hadn’t been the case, I just know he wouldn’t have done it. If you had known how he was outed, you would understand…”

Will’s insides freeze, thinking about what Lee said about stories. “How…” he starts but Hazel interrupts him again.

“Not my story to tell. But believe me, he wouldn’t do it to his worst enemy…Let alone to the guy he’s been in love with for more than half a year...” she says, giving him a sad smile.

“Shit…” he sighs. Half of him can’t stop jumping up and down when Hazel’s words sink in. _The guy he’s been in love with for more than half a year…_ but somehow he realizes it won’t be that simple, or Nico would be the one standing there, leaning against the car.

“So, approximately how mad is he at me right now for accusing him of posting it?” he asks.

“Pretty mad, I’d say. You might get some points for sympathy when he hears about the scholarship thing, but it’s going to take some groveling if you want to set things right with him.”

“And I will try my very best. In due time.” he says. Hazel gives him a skeptical glance and he continues with a confession. “I really am crazy about him, you know. Quite a lot of crazy actually… And I probably would have ended up coming out for him if that’s what he would have wanted. I just like to think he would have given me a couple of months for a chance to go to college…” he says, tears welling up in his eyes.

Hazel seems to take pity on him and wraps her arms around him. “Hey, you can fix this. We’ll fix it somehow. Both with Nico and with your scholarship. I just don’t think this is the end of it, or those bigoted asshole talent scouts will feel the wrath of the di Angelo-Lavezque family.”

“Thanks Hazel… I will fix this with Nico somehow. I just need to sort myself out right now. Get my shit together and talk to my mom.” He sighs.

“She doesn’t know you’re gay either?” Hazel says and Will shakes his head. She smiles. “I’m sure she’ll be ok with it. Parents usually are, in the end.”

She’s not ok with it.

His coming out ends in a row of epic proportions. She doesn’t seem to be as upset with his sexuality, but she’s furious about him losing the scholarship and accuses him of being stupid and reckless for coming out like that. It doesn’t seem to help in the slightest that he didn’t do it on purpose. They both scream some pretty nasty things at one another and it all ends with him grabbing a bag and stuffing it with clothes and a toothbrush.

“I’m out of here, so don’t worry. You won’t have to provide for your loser faggot of a son anymore...” he screams and slams the door behind him.

He has no idea where he’s going to go, but his feet steer him in the direction of the train station.

<< to Lee >> hey, you don’t think I could crash on your couch for a couple of nights, do you?

<< from Lee >> that’s what brothers are for, right?

He spends the whole train ride writing and erasing texts to Nico without sending one. In the end, what he comes up with is:

<< to Nico >> I am so sorry. I have to get my life sorted, but I’ll think of a way to make it up to you. I promise. Don’t give up on me, please.

.oOo.

“You should probably tell your mom where you are, she must be worried sick…” Lee says as he bustles about the kitchenette in his dorm room making breakfast the next day. They have been up talking most of the night, Will spilling the whole story, and crying quite a bit in between.

“Well, it serves her right in that case…” Will says grumpily. In his heart, he knows Lee is probably right. But he doesn’t want to talk to her. Or tell her about Lee. It will only piss her off even more. And anyway, he feels so safe here, at Lee’s place. Away from everything that hurts. He can pretend none of that happened for a little bit, and if feels good to feign ignorance. It won’t last, but it’s like taking a small pause to breathe.

“I can’t believe she turned out to be such a narrow minded bitch…” Will continues ranting. Then he comes to think about something that has been gnawing at the back of his mind since the fight yesterday. “Hey… you know how you said Apollo is bisexual?” he asks.

Lee turns to look at him. “Yeah?”

“Well, I was thinking… You said there was more to their divorce than him just leaving? You don’t think his sexuality had anything to do with it?”

His brother keeps himself busy making breakfast for quite some time before answering. After a bit, he sets down two coffee mugs and a plate with toast on the table, sits down on the chair across from Will and sighs. “I do, actually. But I don’t know if it’s my story to tell…”

“Why does everybody keep saying that?” Will groans. “If mom’s been lying to me, don’t you think I deserve to know?”

“Yes, but perhaps dad should be the one to tell you? If you don’t want to have to confront your mom? I don’t know the whole story either.”

“Dad? It’s not like he’s around, is it? Doesn’t he live in Nashville or somewhere?”

“Yeah, but he spends a great deal of time in New York as well lately. His studio has moved their headquarters here.”

“He’s got a record deal?” Will asks incredulously.

“Yeah. He’s still doing pretty well, actually. I mean, I realize Country isn’t exactly big with the NY kids these days, but there are parts of this country where he still has a solid following...”

“Wow… mum always makes it sound like he is just some wanna-be artist loser…”

Lee frowns. “And you never even thought to Google him?”

Will shrugs. He did once, when he was younger. But the first couple of hits were mainly about his many love affairs, which made Will bitter and angry, so he stopped reading.

“Well, if you want, we could give him a call and you can meet him and ask him all about it.” Lee suggests.

Will gapes. “He’s here now? In New York?”

Lee nods, but Will feels uncertain about the whole thing. He doesn’t think he can take any more disappointment right now, and he’s pretty sure that’s where it would end. Even if Apollo evidently keeps in contact with Lee, that doesn’t mean he wants to meet Will.

“I don’t know Lee… He’s never shown any interest in meeting me before. Why would he now?”

Lee gives him a long look. “Because you’re eighteen now Will. Nobody can stop it if _you_ want to see him.”

“What?”

His whole world is turned upside down for the second time in less than twenty four hours. It just can’t be true. It can’t. Right? His mom wouldn’t have done that?

“I’m sorry…” Lee says, and Will can’t see anything but genuine pity in his eyes.

Will is more nervous than he has ever been in his whole life as he is helping Lee making dinner that night. He almost chops himself in the finger more times than he can count, trying to prepare a simple side salad.

Here’s the deal: Apollo is coming to dinner. Will is going to meet his dad for the first time in eleven years. He can’t believe it’s actually happening.

He doesn’t know what to make of what little Lee has told him about his mom’s actions after the divorce, and he drives himself crazy trying to figure it out before he decides to let it go for now. From what he can tell, she hasn’t been completely honest with him, that much is clear. Apparently, Apollo is doing quite well as a Country singer, for one thing. That’s easily verified by Google. And then there’s the enthusiasm with which his dad has cancelled all his plans for the evening when Lee called with the news that Will was ready to meet him. Oh, and Lee knows far too many details about Will’s soccer career, since it turns out Apollo has been lurking around hidden among the spectators at a fair amount of his games and telling Lee all about it, so there’s that as well.

Two hours later, Will is in shock as everything he ever thought he knew about his life is suddenly questioned. He doesn’t know how much of Apollo’s story to believe, but he’s sure his mom has lied to him about at least a certain amount of things from the moment his dad shows up, hugs him tightly and cries into his shoulder. That, or his dad is the best actor ever, and Lee is lying as well. And he doesn’t want to believe that either. But to believe that his mom has kept his dad from seeing him all these years and lied about it? It’s a hard idea to grasp...

“People do the craziest things when they are scared, Will. I don’t want you to be too angry with Naomi, I know she thinks she did it to protect you. And I was a stubborn fool as well, at least in the beginning. I tried to extort my way back in her life by refusing to pay an allowance if I didn’t get to see you, but that backfired and in the end she refused to accept my money instead.” Apollo explains, rubbing his hands over his face as he remembers.

“But why? I don’t understand? Why did she throw you out in the first place?” Will asks, confused. “I mean, unless you cheated on her?”

Apollo gives Will a wistful look, full of regret and pain and years and years of loss. “It’s complicated son, I’m not sure you’d understand…”

“Why don’t you try me?” Will says stubbornly. He’s not about to give up now, this close to finding out the truth...

His father takes a deep breath, as if to brace himself and starts telling his story.

Will’s jaw all but drop to the floor when Apollo tells him that he and Naomi had an open marriage, by mutual agreement, but Apollo insisted she was just as wild and crazy as he was in her younger days. They had an agreement to keep it out of their small town though, and Apollo had broken that agreement and was caught in the act with another man, and by his lover’s wife nonetheless. This had caused a huge scandal in their small, religious community, and according to Apollo’s story, Naomi had blamed it all on him to save her own skin. She thought that if their arrangement was known they would both be outcasts, while she could save herself and Will by playing the victim and telling people her husband has cheated on her.

“She panicked, Will,” Apollo explains. “And she wasn’t completely wrong. I didn’t see the harm in what we had done at first, but in the end, when the true story started leaking out, her whole family turned their backs on her. She lost her day job and had to give up her budding career as a singer to move across the country with you in order to even find a job.”

“But still, why couldn’t you have stayed together…? Or at least stayed friends, if it was a mutual decision to fool around?” Will asks. He finds the whole idea with an open marriage hard to stomach, but he decides to humor his dad for now and try to understand what happened between his parents.

“I guess she was angry with me for being reckless and getting caught. In a way, I think she saw it as cheating when she realized what I had with him was more than physical. She was jealous and couldn’t handle that I fell in love with him,” Apollo explains with a small shrug. Will is just about to open his mouth and tell his dad he can understand that feeling when his dad continues. “I believe in the ability to love more than one person, but Naomi didn’t and she had wanted me to choose between us even before the scandal happened,” he finishes.

Will shakes his head, feeling angry tears press behind his eyes. “I still can’t believe she would stop you from seeing me because of that. I mean, why was I punished?”

Apollo sighs and puts a comforting arm around Will. “She was young and scared and felt like I let her down. Like the whole world let her down. Now, I can’t say that I’m happy with her for telling you your dad wanted nothing to do with you, but I’m not without blame in this mess either. I was young and arrogant and I said some pretty hurtful things to her out of revenge when she tried to blame me for the whole scandal. It took me years to understand what she must have been going through and by then it was too late to fix things between us.”

Will still doesn’t know what to think and who to believe and his head hurts from trying to figure it out. When Apollo asks if he can be a part of Will’s life again, he still doesn’t know what to make of it all.

“My life is just such a mess right now…” Will sighs. “I mean, I’m glad we met and that we talked, but I’ll probably need some time, you know? I’m still angry with you. And now I’m angry with mom too. And on top of our whole family drama, I’ve messed up everything with Nico, and I lost the scholarship…”

“Well, I would be surprised if you weren’t angry with us both to be frank. I know I’m furious with myself, and I’d be willing to bet my good looks Naomi is too. I just hope we can find a way forward. I don’t want to lose any more time with you, son…”

Will gives him a tentative smile. He doesn’t either. “We’ll work something out. Mom will just have to deal with the fact that I want to see my dad,” he sighs.

“And I’m sure you’ll be able to fix things with this boy. It isn’t teenage love if there isn’t a certain degree of drama involved you know?” Apollo chuckles.

“Ah, to be a teenager again…” Lee sighs dramatically and clutches his hands over his heart. Will slaps him on the arm.

For a second, it’s almost like they are a family and Will can’t help smiling.

“Oh…” Apollo adds suddenly, picking his wine glass up and raising it to Will. “...and I wouldn’t worry about that scholarship. I’m sure any college soccer team would be happy to have you with that right foot of yours. If you can even find the time to play as a pre-med, that is?”

Will sighs. He doesn’t know how to tell Apollo the truth, so he just shrugs. He doesn’t want his dad to think he agreed to meet up with him just so he can ask him for money.

Lee rolls his eyes. “Dad, I think you have forgotten to tell Will something?”

“Oh, what?”

“The scholarship… he needed it more for the money than to get a spot on a team…”

“What? No! You shouldn’t accept a deal like that. They would own you. That’s what your college funds are for, son.”

“Yeah, only I don’t have any…” he mutters.

“Of course you do. I started a fund the day you were born, as I did for all my kids. And what do you think I did with twelve years of allowance that Naomi wouldn’t accept from me? It’s all saved up for you, you know, more than enough to get you through Med School.”

Will is stunned into silence again. He gets the feeling his jaw muscles must be malfunctioning with all the gaping he’s doing lately.

“What!?”

“Yeah… of course. Naomi knows about this, I emailed her about it ages ago...” He frowns and looks thoughtful for a while. “At least I think I did…?”

“Dad… you’re hopeless,” Lee groans.

When Will falls into bed later, bone tired and emotionally drained the thoughts swirl around in his head, making it impossible to sleep. He doesn't know what to think or what to believe anymore. His mom hasn't been honest with him, and he wants to be mad at her, because he sort of needs to be mad at someone right now. But there's also something in his dad's story that doesn't add up. Somehow, he gets the feeling things may be even more complicated than Apollo even thinks. He seems genuinely nice and caring, but also a bit oblivious and absent minded somehow. Like how it seems he may have forgotten to tell Will's mom about the college fund. It's kind of an important thing to maybe forget, isn't it? He thinks about texting Nico before he falls asleep, but somehow he can't bring himself to do it. He's too emotional right now and he fears he will just make even more of a mess if he tries to solve that particular problem right now. No, he has to sleep on it and come up with a really good apology to make Nico forgive him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, my hate object to write? Emotional dialogue and trying to explain backstory without sounding like a classical "As you know, Bob..:" or a bad soap opera. Still not sure I made it, but it was worse before the editing, believe me.... 
> 
> Also, you know how I wrote in the summary I was inspired by some random teen movies? This (the outing on the school blog) is the part I stole from Love, Simon (obviously). That's a really cute movie if you haven't seen it :)
> 
> As always, thank you guys for sticking with me all this time, we are getting close to the end now but we still have some chapters to go.


	23. Nico

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welcome back! I didn't let you wait too long I hope! Somebody in the comments said they were happy they found this while it was still a WIP because of the suspense! I just say congratulations for being a patient person, ha ha. I'm the kind of person who can't start reading a fic longer than 40k words after seven pm because I will finish it even if it takes me all night... And I sort of both love and hate reading WIPs - I love interacting and commenting, but if there's too long between the updates I loose interest. And then there's the risk that it won't be completed and I never get to know what happened. (Which I totally understand, sometimes life happens, but for a curious person like myself it's pure torture not to know how something ends)
> 
> Anyway, why are you reading my rambling notes when you should read the next chapter of this fic?? ;)

Nico is not moping. Di Angelo’s don’t mope. He’s just sitting on his bed, composing. It might just be that he’s writing a masterpiece right now. One about pain and heartbreak and stupid boys. It’s not moping. It’s him being creative. Ha.

And he isn’t even really heartbroken, just confused. With everything that has happened since Friday evening, he is surprised he hasn’t gotten a whiplash from trying to keep up with all the sudden turns of events. It’s like he’s part of a bad day time soap opera, he just doesn’t know if the last couple of days will turn out to be a dream or if it’s really Will’s unknown, evil twin brother who is wreaking havoc in their lives. Hazel had just managed to persuade him to give Will a chance when he suddenly accused Nico of outing him to the whole world instead, acting like a first class asshole. It had taken Nico most of Saturday to calm down and accept Hazel’s explanation that the poor guy had panicked when he was outed and lost his scholarship. On the surface, Nico can understand how one might jump to conclusions since he doesn’t have an explanation himself to how the fuck a text sent to his phone ended up on the school blog. But it still hurts as hell deep down. If Will had trusted him even a little, wouldn’t he have confronted him and at least asked politely before resorting to name calling and wishing Nico down to the Underworld?

Then there are all the mixed signals. The fact that Hazel told him Will told her he is crazy about Nico. And the weird text asking him to wait for Will to sort out things. Again. What the fuck? If he’s really that crazy about Nico, why hasn’t he come begging for forgiveness by now?

The monotonous sound of him repeating the same chords over and over is interrupted by a knock on his door.

“That sounds promising,” his father says nodding along to the rhythm. “I like the bridge you’re working on there…”

Nico isn't in the mood for a father son talk right now. “Did you want something,” he asks.

“Oh,” his dad says. “You’ve got visitors…”

Nico’s heart somersaults in his chest. Could it be…?

“There are two pretty young ladies waiting for you downstairs… I think I recognized one of them…” his dad continues and Nico’s heart sinks.

Not Will then. But he can’t help being curious. Who would visit this late on a Sunday, without even calling first?

When he comes down the stairs, Drew is standing a bit awkwardly in the hallway accompanied by none other than Will’s ex girlfriend, Katie, red rimmed eyes and a look of astonishment on her face as she takes in the vast hallway and the marble stairs with mahogany railings Nico is currently coming down.

Nico glares at Drew. “Drew… I see you’ve brought a friend…”

“I’m sorry Nico, but it’s sort of an emergency. And Katie won’t tell on you if you still don’t want anyone to know where you live…” Drew promises. “Right Katie?”

The blonde just nods and continues to combine gaping and sobbing into an almost amusing grimace.

Nico folds his arms and sighs. “Ok, so what’s the emergency?” he asks. There’s no need to argue about this - what’s done is done and perhaps it’s time to stop hiding anyway.

Drew gives Katie a worried glance before asking “You haven’t heard from Will, have you?”

Nico’s heart makes a small jump at the mention of the other boy but he tries to look mildly disinterested as he replies. “No… Not since… yesterday after the game…”

“When? What did he say?” Katie asks, urgently, grabbing Drew’s arm in a steady grip.

Nico narrows his eyes “What’s this about?”

Drew sighs. “He’s sort of missing…”

“Sort of missing!?” Nico exclaims, suddenly feeling confusion and anger being replaced by cold fear.

Katie suddenly breaks down, sobbing hysterically. “Oh God. I was almost hoping he was here… This is all my fault…”

Rosa comes storming out of the kitchen. “What’s happening here? Ay, hijita mia… you need something for the nerves” she exclaims and starts fussing about Katie and leads her out into the kitchen.

Ten minutes later they are joined by Hazel, sitting around the sturdy wooden table with four steaming mugs of hot chocolate in front of them. With extra marshmallows, since Rosa refused to spike Katie’s with rum and they decided excess sugar had to do for now as a means to reduce anxiety.

“So, tell me what happened… All I got after he accused me of posting that fucking message on the blog was a text saying he was sorry and that needed to sort out his life or some shit.” Nico huffs.

“When was that?” Drew asks.

Nico sighs and picks up his phone to scroll through the messages. “Half past four...”

Drew looks at Katie. “That’s after he left home…”

“Can somebody please tell me what the hell has happened?” Nico practically growls.

Drew sighs and launches into an explanation. “Ok. So, after the game, Will went home and talked to his mum. Evidently, they got into a fight. She wouldn’t tell us exactly what happened, but I think she might have said some pretty nasty things to him when he came out. She was devastated that he lost that scholarship and apparently lost her temper…”

At this, Katie starts crying again and Nico is starting to get really worried. And a bit annoyed. Why the hell is she so involved in this anyway? Sure, he gets that they are still friends, but she’s behaving like a betrayed (and worried) girlfriend.

Drew sighs again and puts her arm around Katie before continuing. “So, anyway… Will packed a bag and left. Nobody has seen or heard from him since he texted you and he seems to have turned off his phone.”

“And what about Cecil and Lou Ellen? Connor?” Hazel asks.

Nico is fidgeting with his mug, trying not to freak out while the thoughts whirl around in his mind. He has almost forgotten he’s mad at Will. Right now, he just wants him to be ok.

“They are all out looking,” Drew says. “His mom assumed he had gone to Cecil’s and it was only tonight when she called them and realized Will wasn’t there that she freaked out. I offered to check with you since I wanted to talk to you in person and I’m the only one who knows where you live.”

Katie looks up through tear filled eyes. “And I came because I wanted to… to talk to you. And say I’m sorry. It… It’s all my fault,” she sobs.

Nico raises his eyebrows at her.

“It was me. Or. It wasn’t me. But I didn’t stop him and…” she starts but then she loses her thread.

Nico just stares flatly at her waiting for the rest of the explanation. He shares a look with Hazel, who looks just as puzzled.

Katie sighs and takes a deep breath. “Ok. So. I’m sort of the one responsible for the text leaking… “

“What!?” Both Nico and Hazel exclaim.

Katie braces herself again. “Ok. Look, I am _so_ sorry. But when Will joked around earlier that day and sent me and Nico that cupid picture, saying it was adorable, I thought he meant it for _me_ and that we still had a chance. He was so happy and flirty and I didn’t realize all the time he was flirting with Nico instead of with me…”

Nico looks away. _Yeah, awkward…_

Katie wipes her tears and continues. “Anyway. Later that night, Eric was driving me home because there was something wrong with my car… and when Will sent that text and I understood, I sort of lost it. I was angry and sad...and sort of in shock. And Eric saw it and somehow managed to twist his way into my head and convince me that Will had been with Nico the whole time behind my back and just used me as some kind of facade.”

“So you posted the text?” Hazel asks, giving Katie a rather cold look.

“It was Eric who posted it. I wouldn’t have… but it all happened so quickly, and… and… I should have stopped him, but I was so mad, and confused and… I let him do it. And now I’ve ruined Will’s life. Oh God. What if something has happened to him…?” She breaks down crying again.

“Hold on a sec...” Nico suddenly remembers that something is missing from the equation. “How the hell did you get the text in the first place…?”

Drew sighs. “Because apparently, Will is an idiot who doesn’t check where he’s sending things…” She rolls her eyes. “When he sent Nico and Katie the picture earlier that day, he seems to have managed to create some kind of group or thread or something, and when he pulled up his latest text to Nico to create a reply, he accidentally pulled up the thread and the answer went to Katie as well…”

“Fuck…” Nico groans. He’s going to punch Will in the face when he sees him. Ok, so maybe not, but what an immensely stupid thing to do…

“Look, Katie…” Nico starts, without knowing exactly what he wants to say. He can’t say that it’s ok, because it sure isn’t. He remembers when he was outed on his old school’s message board on Valentine’s day. Dealing with the humiliation and aftermath was the worst month of his life, not to mention that it stole away his choice to come out in his own way. He would probably have come up with something awesome given time.

“Yes?” Katie asks and Nico realizes he zoned out for a moment there…

“I’m sorry if you were hurt, I didn’t mean to… I don’t know. Be a home wrecker or anything…” Nico says, cringing. What the hell did he want to say with that…?

“It’s ok… I mean, it’s not your fault really. Will told me nothing happened between you two when we were dating, so…” she shrugs.

Nico gives her a small smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. ”Yeah. Ok. Well, things are a little weird between me and Will right now, but I really care about him and I’ll help you look. Or whatever I can do…”

“I don’t know what we can do… I mean, the others are driving around looking at all the usual places. We have called everyone we know… And the only other possibility anyone can think of is that he has a half brother who goes to Columbia, but nobody knows where he lives…” Katie sighs.

“Hold on…” Nico says, head jerking up. “When you say half brother, do you mean they have the same dad?”

Katie looks confused. “Yeah?”

“That country singer, Apollo?” Nico asks.

Drew frowns at him, still not getting it. “Yes, but it’s not like he’s listed…”

Nico shares a look with Hazel and raises his eyebrows. “Oh, come on. You know who our father is Drew, if there was ever a time to use some of his connections, it would be now, right? As it happens, Apollo is one of the artists of D.O.A, so finding his number shouldn’t be too hard...”

“Oh…”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I hope you liked it! And before someone asks if it isn't unlikely that Will was that stupid with the text, sure. It was extremely sloppy of him. But let's look at two facts:
> 
> 1) It can happen to the best of us. Like me. I've once had a very long conversation about grocery shopping for dinner with my partner before our amused neighbors pitched it "Well, this is all very interesting but we didn't know we were invited..." since I had managed to answer in some kind of group message thread that i-message had made when I had asked them all about something the previous weekend. Just lucky it wasn't something more embarrassing than dinner that was planned ;)
> 
> 2) you all know the golden rule of story telling - getting your characters into trouble by unlucky circumstances and coincidence = ok. Getting them out of it by chance = cheating ;)


	24. Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg, we are almost at the end of this! A small warning for a bit of teenage angst in this chapter (as well, ha ha), but I promise you, things will fall into place soon. Now, if you were keeping track, you might have noticed that I've changed the number of chapters from 28 to 27, meaning there's only going to be two more chapters plus an epilogue :o The reason is that I realized I had somehow missed to write a Nico pov chapter between the last two chapters. This left me with three options - a) writing another chapter, which wouldn't add much plot and take longer before I finish, b) keeping two Will chapters in a row or c) merging the two last chapters. 
> 
> I lowered the numbers of chapters because I'm leaning towards c) at the moment, but if I have a brilliant idea of something I'd like to show from Nico's POV, I might change it again. I also haven't written the epilogue, so I may have reason to stall anyway...

Will wakes up feeling a bit disoriented on Monday morning - to the point where he doesn’t even know it is Monday morning at first. He realizes where he is when he hears Lee’s voice coming from somewhere in the small apartment, and feels the lumpy couch cushions pressing uncomfortably into his stomach and his feet sticking out over the edge of the just a bit too short IKEA couch. He twists and turns, trying to find a more comfortable position while the day before slowly comes back to him, but the damn couch really isn’t made to sleep on and he somehow always ends up bent like a banana. A banana with cold feet. Damn IKEA - “Söderhamn” probably translates into “uncomfortable” in Swedish. He groans and pulls the blanket over his face and tries to forget all about reality for a couple of minutes more while deciding to get Lee an air mattress for his birthday. They didn’t talk about it yesterday, but Will knows he won’t be able to go back to school today. He’s never taken a sick day without actually being sick before in his life, and he feels a small twinge of guilt. But he just can’t face people right now.

“Yeah, he’s still here. I think he’s sleeping though…” he hears Lee tell someone on the phone, and he reluctantly opens an eye to look for his brother. “No wait, I think he’s just pretending…” Lee says with a smirk and tugs the blanket off of Will’s head and torso.

Will stretches and yawns before he curiously asks who it is. Lee rolls his eyes and hands him the phone, and Will feels a bit stupid for asking since there’s only one person who know them both, and who has Lee’s number, as far as Will is aware.

“So, William…” Apollo says, sounding both amused and a bit exasperated, “I received a very interesting phone call last night when I got back to the hotel.”

Will blinks a couple of times in confusion, completely at a loss as to why a phone call for his dad might concern him. “...ok?” he asks hesitantly, urging his dad to go on.

“It was from mr Hayden himself, can you believe it? Asking if I knew the whereabouts of my son,” he explains. “You being the son, obviously...” Apollo clarifies unnecessarily.

“From who?” Will asks, still completely bewildered.

“Mr Hayden,” Apollo emphasizes impatiently, as if Will is a bit slow on the uptake. “Owner of Hayden consolidated and my studio, D.O.A records…?”

Sure, Will has heard about the somewhat eccentric billionaire who built a successful business empire out of basically nothing after some scandal made his family cut him off. If Will remembers correctly the man took his revenge by buying his family out and taking over most of the hotels and casinos they owned, making him not only the owner of the biggest record company in the country, but like half of Las Vegas as well. He didn’t know Apollo was connected to D.O.A., but then again, he can’t for the life of him understand why it matters right now?

“Ok,“ he tries again, “but what does that have to do with me?”

Apollo chuckles on the phone. “Well, apparently there was something of a search party going on yesterday, and they had no other means to locate me and ask if I knew your whereabouts than to go through mr Hayden himself…”

It’s obvious his dad is quite content with this development, but Will is starting to freak out. He realizes he completely forgot to check his phone yesterday, what with all the shocking revelations and life altering news he had to digest. He also didn’t particularly feel like talking to his mom, or anyone else, at that point. Now, he feels like a first class jerk - of course he should have thought about them worrying. Shame and confusion compete for attention in his brain as he processes what Apollo just said.

“But…” Will starts, gathering his thoughts before continuing. “Was the police involved? Or how did they manage to get mr Hayden involved just to get your number? Aren’t CEO:s of multi billion dollar enterprises usually too busy to engage in search parties for lost teenage boys? Even if it is the son of one of their employees…?”

Apollo is quiet for a long while as if he’s trying to decide how to answer that. “Oh, you didn’t know…?” he asks cautiously.

“Know what?” Will asks.

“Will, you’re practically dating mr Hayden’s son. Did you really not know?”

Will shakes his head and frowns in confusion, only to realize his dad can’t hear that over the phone. Damn grown ups and their urge to have phone conversations… Will has never understood why his mom doesn’t just text or call him up on face time if she absolutely wants to hear his voice, but apparently his dad also suffers from this weird phone disorder.

“What are you talking about? I’m not dating anyone and I don’t even know his son. Didn’t even know he had one for that matter…” he says, a bit annoyed.

“Well, his son seems to know you at least, I spoke to him myself. Nico Hayden di Angelo? Wasn’t that the boy you were talking about yesterday?”

Will freezes, completely unable to think of something to say in response. He can’t even remember the rest of their conversation, and when Apollo has hung up Will is still in shock. Again. If he has to find out one more secret thing about a person he thought he knew, he will just… shit. He doesn’t know what he would do. Lose the plot, probably. Not that he is so sure he still has it, but anyway.

He does some damage control, like texting his friends, and calling his mom, mostly on autopilot. He doesn’t contact Nico, but he supposes he knows Will is alive, and he can’t bring himself to talk to Nico. Instead, he spends an hour googling the guy, and sure enough, Nico’s last name seems to be hyphenated with Hayden alright. He can’t help it, but he feels a bit betrayed. And very astonished that this “secret” hasn’t leaked at school yet. There are some kids who most certainly know everything there is to know about the local celebrities, and if a billionaire had moved into their community they wouldn’t have shut up about it. And then it hits him. Nico doesn’t live in their town, he probably lives up in Olympus Cove. Shit. Will wants to punch himself for not digging into it that time when he wondered why Nico was so vague about where he lived. He should have realized...

Sure, he had suspected that Nico was better off than he wanted to let on, but picturing him sitting in a mansion while a butler brings him breakfast served on a silver platter still seems absurd. And it kind of makes Will freak out. Not that he knows if Nico has a butler, but anyway. Now he can understand why Nico wouldn’t think twice about a college scholarship - his dad could probably buy him a college if he didn’t get into one that exists. Shit. Something heavy and cold has settled in his gut. Nico is so out of his fucking league it’s not even funny. He could never relate to Will and his pesky little working class problems. Will doesn’t even understand why the guy has bothered with him at all. Was Nico just toying with him? Or did he want a distraction before going back to L.A. and his hot ass ex?

Yeah. Will googled him too. There were pictures from some release party at D.O.A last year where “Nico Hayden-di Angelo, seventeen year old heir to multi billion dollar business empire Hayden Consolidated, was seen partying with his boyfriend Tyler Martin, son of actress Victoria Martin, famous from the popular 90ies TV-series...” etc. Not only is Nico’s ex some rich b-list celebrity, but he’s also really hot. Like, shit. Will would have turned around in the street for that guy.

He had been planning on some grand gesture to make Nico forgive him for accusing him of posting the text, but now Will realizes there’s nothing he could do that would impress Nico. He hasn’t got the money to buy anything Nico couldn’t buy for himself, or the connections to organize anything he couldn’t get himself. The only thing he’s good at, except for school, is soccer; and Nico is better at that as well.

Normally, Will is a rather optimistic guy, and technically he’s got a lot to be grateful for at the moment. It seems he will be able to afford college after all, his dad wants to be in his life and he’s got amazing friends who obviously worry about him. On the downside, he’s got a difficult conversation with his mom coming up, but he’s pretty sure they’ll survive it. She cried when he called her earlier, begging for his forgiveness for the things she has said and done. She explained that she was freaking out about history repeating itself when he came out and lost the scholarship, but that Lou Ellen talked to her and told her that things are different here and now than they were twelve years ago in a small town in Texas. Once she accepted that Will’s friends don’t care that he’s gay, and that he won’t be shunned by society she had calmed down and told him she would always love him no matter what. Will hasn’t forgiven her for what she said yet, but he probably will some day. She really did seem sorry.

So all in all, most things are ok in his life. But this whole Nico disaster is tearing him apart. Like, does the Nico Will fell in love with really exist? And if he does, what would he want with Will when he could probably have anyone? It’s too hard to put the pieces together into one whole person and it’s much too confusing right now for his brain to even start trying to sort it out. It will have to wait until they can talk in person, but right now Will can’t help but feel it’s going to be a disaster either way.

Monday evening, Lee’s friend Jake, the one Will kissed at the frat party, comes by and helps him make a coming out video where he explains that he just realized he’s gay and that he never meant to deceive anyone by making it appear otherwise. He says that he’s really loved the girls he’s gone out with, but didn’t understand until recently that it’s not the right kind of love. He’s happy with the video, and he hopes it will make Katie forgive him. She’s one of his best friends after all, and he can’t lose her too. It’s bad enough that everything else is changing.

Even if he knows his mom won’t be happy about it, Will skips school on Tuesday as well. Lee understands why he is reluctant to go back, but sometime after lunch that day, his brother makes him get a grip and face his life again.

“I love you little brother, but you won’t sort your life out by hiding in my dorm room forever…” he says and gives Will’s shoulders a squeeze.

“I hate that you are so much smarter than me…” Will grumbles, but sighs and starts packing his bag. Deep down, he knows Lee is right, of course, but it doesn’t make it more agreeable.

.oOo.

His mom picks him up at the train station, even if it’s only a short walk home. She suggests they should go out and eat tonight though, so they can talk. They drive in a tense and somewhat awkward silence and Will doesn’t know if he’s relieved or annoyed that she wants to take him out to some place where neither of them can make a scene, but he silently follows her out of the car and into the small diner she used to take him for milk shakes on Sundays when he was little. He supposes she wants to remind him about a time when it was the two of them against the world, and he doesn’t point out that he can see right through her cunning plan. They find a small table in a corner and she glances nervously between him and the menu while they decide what to eat and order. Will is still very disappointed in her, but he’s lost the energy to fight somehow, so he listens patiently when she tells her side of the story while waiting for their food to arrive.

Since he’s aiming to be a doctor and all, Will is usually rather health conscious, but today is one of those days that was made for eating comfort food, and his mom doesn’t even comment when a large pile of fries with cheese arrives for him. She steals a couple and chews on them absentmindedly while she waits for him to react, constantly giving him worried glances. Will takes his time to process before commenting, thinking hard about what Apollo told him. If he puts the pieces together correctly, Apollo’s version of the events was mostly true, technically. However, his mother tells a completely different story emotionally. Turns out, she wasn’t as ok with the open marriage as she said she was, and she never actually fooled around on the side regardless of what they had agreed.

“So why did you agree to let him sleep around if you didn’t want that sort of relationship?” Will asks, frowning.

His mother sighs and gives him a wistful smile. “I was young, stupid and madly in love. I thought he would change. I knew what he was like and I didn’t expect it to be more than a fling at first. But when I got pregnant with you, I was terrified of what my family would think, and of losing him, and I convinced him to marry me. I thought he would be able to change and settle down…” she explains.

“But he wanted an open marriage?”

“Yes. And at first I thought I could live with it. I convinced myself it was just physical, and we agreed to keep it out of the town where we lived. He was allowed to see other people when he was on tour, or traveling, and he thought I did the same.”

Will grabs his mother’s hands, in spite of himself, and gives her a sad smile. He feels for her, even though he’s still upset.

“I’m sorry Will, it doesn’t excuse what I did to you,” she continues and squeezes his hands back. “But when our marriage was in shambles and my friends turned their back on me, I just couldn’t face him again. I was angry and bitter and I believed it was all his fault for making me accept an unreasonable deal. I felt used and I realized I had been an idiot to let him sleep around. I was as much of a slut as he was for allowing it to happen.”

Will flinches at that last word and his mother gives him an apologetic shrug. “That’s what my mother told me before she stopped talking to me, and for years I believed it,” she explains. “I hated myself and I hated him. It was the only way I could fall out of love with him… And I thought he would be a bad influence on you.”

“Do you still think he is?” Will asks after a pregnant pause.

His mom sighs and swirls her glass of ice cubes and residual coke around in her hands. “I don’t know Will. He’s a difficult man, but I guess I’ll have to admit that he really seems to care about you, and I was wrong to keep the two of you apart. As long as you don’t take relationship advice from him, I suppose you’ll probably be fine…”

Will smiles for what feels like the first time in days. “I’m not into polyamory, don’t worry. But I won’t be the judge of who deceived whom in your marriage mum. I think you should have been more honest with how you felt, and not accepted a deal you didn’t agree with. But he could probably have been more receptive as well. He genuinely believes you were seeing other people too…”

Naomi sighs again and her face scrunches up into a frown. “But I still can’t understand that he still defends that way of living. It’s just wrong. Can’t he see that? Even after all these years? And what it did to his family?”

“I don’t know mom. Some people might think it’s unethical, but then again, some people think being gay is unethical. Or sex before marriage. Or divorce… I think that as long as something is legal and consensual, it’s not up to other people to judge.”

His mother opens her mouth, but before she can protest Will continues. “I’m not going to defend everything Apollo did, but you have to see that he had no way of knowing that you weren’t ok with the way things were…”

The waiter interrupts them just then, bringing the bill and clearing away the last of their dishes. And it’s probably just as well, since they seem to have hit something of a dead end with this conversation. As far as Will understands it, his mom has a long way to go before she fully understands Apollo’s side of the story and what she did wrong, but he also understands that she must have gone through hell at the time, especially given her religious upbringing.

As it turns out, she didn’t know about the money Apollo has saved. He must have forgotten to send that email, or she didn’t read it, who knows? But she had mixed feelings about it when Will told her. She’s relieved and happy that Will will get the chance to go to college, naturally. But he’s got the feeling she still would have preferred for him to get the scholarship. And he can understand why it’s hard for her that his dad steps in and saves the day after all these years. But Will doesn’t see it like that - it’s mostly money he should have paid her anyway, so Will tries to tell her that in a way, she’s the one who has saved up for him to go to college. She just didn’t know she did it.

He really appreciates that his mom has struggled to provide for him all these years while his dad was absent. And even if Naomi was the one to push Apollo out of Will’s life, he also still thinks his dad could have done more to fight for him than sending the occasional email to his mom, and sneaking around watching him play soccer. If he hadn’t been so worried about the scandal leaking to the media, he could have taken the custody matter to court and demanded at least visiting rights. Or he could have just kept coming around to see what she would have done. It’s not like he really had a restraining order…

.oOo.

Wednesday morning, Cecil and Lou Ellen pick him up to drive him to school. There’s no time to tell their complete stories of what has happened over the last couple of days, so they just share the essentials. But when Will hears a certain piece of information, he feels like turning around and going back to bed.

“Katie? It was Katie who leaked the text?” he says in disbelief.

Cecil turns to face him where he sits in the backseat of Lou’s Beetle, knees almost bumping his chin. “I’m sorry Will. It was Eric who posted it though, but she didn’t stop him either…”

“I can’t believe it. Shit... And I posted that whole coming out video mostly so people wouldn’t think she was an idiot for going out with a gay dude…”

“Yeah…” Cecil and Lou share a look that tells Will they have planned this conversation beforehand before he continues. “She feels horrible about it though. She says she regretted letting him do it at once, and she spent most of Saturday and Sunday crying when she realized it had cost you the scholarship…”

Will still says nothing. But the strained look on his face probably speaks volumes. He’s not sure he’ll be able to forgive her for this.

“Oh, and she defended your honor in the best way ever at school...” Lou Ellen smirks, making Will a little curious.

“What? How?”

“She punched Eric in the face in the middle of the cafeteria on Monday, telling the whole school he was the one to out you just because he was jealous of you and Nico being better soccer players.” Lou says.

“It was epic, dude…” Cecil snickers. “She said, and I quote, that ‘if he had spent more time studying your technique on the soccer field than obsessing over your sex life, he wouldn’t be sitting on the bench so much.’”

“Shit. I wish I could have seen that…” Will muses. He can’t help a small smile from forming on his face.

“She got detention and everything, but that was nothing compared to the fact that Coach kicked Eric off the team permanently,” Cecil says.

Will just gapes. “What?”

“Yeah. He said he can’t have players who will deliberately sabotage their teammates, on or off the field… It’s not good for team spirit. Not even Kyle dared come to Eric’s defense.”

“Holy shit…”

When they step out of the car, Katie is waiting on a bench by the parking lot. She’s sitting by herself, looking down at her hands in her lap. When Will gets closer, she tries for a sad smile, but her face looks very strained, eyebrows knitted tightly together. Lou and Cecil give him a nod and leave them alone.

Katie looks up as he approaches bites her lip nervously. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…” she repeats, small sobs escaping her throat, and Will can’t find it in his heart to be angry with her anymore. He wraps his arms around her and lets her cry against his shoulder. She made a mistake. A serious mistake, sure. But he’s also made mistakes. Sending Katie that text by accident was a pretty shitty thing to do, for example.

“I’m sorry too…” Will whispers in her ear. “I’m sorry I couldn’t love you like you deserved. I’m sorry I cocked up and sent that text to you. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about being gay sooner…”

Katie looks at him, her blue-grey eyes filled with tears, and smiles. He can feel his own eyes fill up as well and he smiles back.

“So, friends?” he asks.

“Friends,” she says firmly, and this time it feels like she means it.

They enter the school building together. Will draws a deep breath and braces himself. He doesn’t care much what people think about him normally, but facing the world feels difficult today. It’s not that he’s ashamed to be gay. He’s accepted it now, and he never had anything against queer people, nor does most people at L.I High as far as he knows. But Will really values honesty and he feels bad about lying. Like a fraud that has been exposed, since he never got the chance to come out on his own terms.

Katie seems to be reading his mind, or at least his emotions. “Nobody blames you, you know…” she says, squeezing his arm.

“I still feel like I lied to everyone. Although I didn’t really. Just for the last couple of months, and it was only because of the scholarship…”

“I know Will. You said as much in your video. And I can guarantee you not a single person has missed it…”

“But, aren’t people upset about it? I mean, like the people in the GSA? I feel like I let them down by not coming out sooner...” he confesses.

“Sure, they are upset, but not with you. They, have started writing an open letter about the homophobic culture in sports and arranged a petition for everyone to sign it…”

“What? Seriously? Where are they going to send it?” Will asks incredulously.

“I don’t know yet. They are investigating different options… They just started yesterday after you posted the video, so I don’t know how far they have come.”

To Will’s surprise and relief, it turns out Katie is right. Everyone is acting surprisingly normal and the few comments he gets are positive ones, offering support or congratulations on a good coming out video. It makes him feel even worse about waiting this long to tell people. Sure, he was right about the scholarship, but he was wrong fearing the reactions from his teammates and his other peers.

He manages to avoid Nico until lunch, and he’s feeling increasingly nervous about confronting him. Drew doesn’t make things any better. It turns out she knew about Nico’s secret billionaire life after going with her father to a party at Hayden’s, and she probably thinks she’s being helpful when she tries to defend Nico.

“Don’t be too hard on him, he’s had some bad luck before and he didn’t want people to use him to get to his dad or his money…” she explains, evidently very satisfied with the fact that she knew something Will didn’t. Will just scoffs in return. Drew has somehow managed to ruin his good mood. Horrible gossip, that’s what she is.

Although if he is honest, it’s not Drew he’s mad at. She probably has no idea how much that statement hurts. So Nico thought he was just another gold digger? _Well, screw him if that’s how he sees me_ , Will thinks, and he has worked up quite a temper by the time Nico gets there. Will looks away stubbornly as Nico approaches the table, but he can see out of the corner of his eyes that he hesitates, before choosing a seat far away from Will. The atmosphere around the table is more than a bit awkward, as if people can sense the tension between the two boys who sit three seats apart and try not to look at each other, both of them failing spectacularly at the task. Will can’t help that his eyes are drawn to Nico, and he has to avert his gaze quickly before the other boy catches him staring a number of times. In return, he can feel Nico’s eyes piercing his neck every time he turns his head away to talk to Cecil, who is seated next to him.

“Ok,” Lou Ellen says when people are getting ready to leave. “As much fun as watching this pitiful display of passive aggression has been, I think the two of you should talk.” She looks pointedly between Will and Nico.

The rest of their friends scramble to get away as quickly as possible. “Amen to that…” Cecil says.

“Couldn’t agree more…” Drew pitches in and Lacy nods.

Katie gives Will a small reassuring smile, but leaves them as well.

They sit in silence for a while, none of them wanting to speak. After a while, Nico sighs.

“Do you want to go outside? I’m not really comfortable having this conversation in front of half the school…” he says.

Will shrugs but gets up from his seat and leads the way out of the cafeteria with Nico following half a step behind him. He wonders if people think they are actually a couple as all eyes turn to stare at them.

They sit down on the same bench where Will was talking to Katie earlier this morning. This feels like a very different conversation though. He can’t believe it has been less than a week since he invited Nico upstairs and they made out on his bed. It could just as well have happened in another lifetime and Will doesn’t even know how to start explaining how he feels about it all.

Nico starts though, straight to the point as usual. “You said I should be patient with you and that you were going to make me forgive you…” he says and gives Will a piercing look before he continues. “So why do I get the feeling that you are waiting for an apology from me all of a sudden?”

Will sighs and rakes his hands through his tangle of curls. It feels stupid, somehow, confessing his insecurities out loud. But the issue is still very real to him, and he can’t pretend it didn’t happen. He takes a deep breath. “You lied to me Nico,” he says, simply.

Nico rolls his eyes like he doesn’t believe they are having this conversation. “I never lied to you. I may have omitted some information, if you’re talking about who my dad is? Are you? Because I don’t even know what I did to you…”

“It’s a lot of information to omit, though…” Will grumbles. “Oh, and by the way, who is Jules Albert?” he adds, an undertone of triumph in his voice.

Nico looks at him in confusion. “He’s our driver and, like, he helps around the house… What’s your point?”

“Mhm…” Will says and folds his arms over his chest. “So you did lie. You told me he’s a guy your father works with, who helped you out a couple of times. That’s a lie…”

“Not technically… he does work with my dad….”

“He works _for_ your dad. It’s not the same,” Will argues, only barely managing to suppress the urge to add “HA” as proof that he’s won the debate. Only, it doesn’t feel like much of a victory.

Nico stares at him in disbelief, evidently able to hear the unspoken words and Will suddenly feels like a childish, stubborn idiot. He blows out a loud breath and lets his shoulders sag in defeat before he meets Nico’s eyes. “Look, I don’t really care about technicalities Nico. The thing is that it hurts that you deliberately hid who you are because you didn’t trust me…”

“It wasn’t…” Nico tries to interrupt, but Will shakes his head.

“Drew told me. You’ve had bad luck before and didn’t want people to use you. And I get that,” Will says, and he can hear the bitterness and anger showing in his voice but it’s just as well. He really wants Nico to know how much it hurts. “...but we’ve known each other for a while now, and you knew I liked you, but you still didn’t tell me. And then you get pissed off at me because I drew the wrong conclusion and said something stupid in the heat of the moment while my whole fucking life was falling apart…”

Nico’s eyes flash dangerously. “I think it’s different accusing someone of doing something so fucking mean…”

“And believe me, I didn’t want it to be you.” Will interrupts, practically growling. He can’t believe it’s so hard for Nico to just confess he was wrong and apologize. Why won’t he just understand?

“I had just found out about the blog post when you texted,” Will continues. “And there was no other logical explanation, no matter how hard I tried to think of one. And then I thought, if it wasn’t you, you would have told me so.”

“I didn’t know,” Nico roars, losing his temper as well. “I don’t read the fucking school blog the first thing I do when I wake up on a Saturday morning. And for the record, I also didn’t know about your scholarship and why you were so damn scared of coming out. I’ve been burned before on that as well…” he sighs and deflates.

“Ok, so we’re back to you not trusting me then…” Will says acidly, giving Nico a cold glare. He doesn’t even know why he’s so angry. Usually, he doesn’t lose his temper easily, but something about this whole affair just ticks him off. Or perhaps it’s something about Nico that gets under his skin. Also, in his defense, there has just been too much going on lately. Too many people not being honest with him in one way or another and he’s had it with all that shit.

Nico hides his face in his palms and is silent for a long while. Will fears that he’s going to explode, but when he meets Will’s eyes again he’s just looking tired and vulnerable more than anything. “It’s not like that. I trust you as much as I trust anyone,” Nico says, and his voice is thick with emotion. “It’s just… these are touchy subjects for me, ok? I was outed as well, and it was like the worst thing ever to happen to me. And when you assumed I could have done that to you, I just… I was furious at first, yes. And hurt. But it’s not the end of the world. Hazel talked to me and told me I overreacted…” He glances at Will from under dark strands of hair that have fallen into his face during the argument. “She told me… she said… you said you were crazy about me…?” he asks, very quietly.

Will sighs, leaning back against the wall and looking up into the sky. He doesn’t know how to answer that. He _is_ crazy about Nico, probably even in love with Nico. His Nico, the one he knew. Is that the person sitting next to him on the bench? He still doesn’t know...

Nico’s voice is shaking slightly when he continues. “But it’s not true, is it?”

Will meets his dark gaze, tears trying to force their way up into his own eyes, burning in his throat. “It was,” he says. “It is… I mean, it’s true that I told her that.”

“But?” Nico asks with a sigh.

“But I just feel like I don’t know you anymore. You’re not who I thought you were. I fell for a humble and modest sort of guy. A bit mouthy, sure, but a person who cares about others and doesn’t brag or expect special treatment. Who had lost a parent, sort of like me. Someone I could relate to... Not some billionaire player type who parties with celebrities and makes the society pages…”

Nico heaves a deep, exasperated sigh and presses his lips together, like he’s praying for patience. “So you don’t think I can be that guy just because my dad’s rich and I accidentally might have ended up in some kind of gossip column against my fucking will? So what? Big deal? I don’t care about what your mom does for a living or what fucking car you drive or shit like that. It doesn’t matter to me. Money never meant anything to me…”

“Exactly… I think that’s the problem. You didn’t think about the consequences of not telling me about it, because it didn’t matter to you. But that’s just what you don’t get. It matters to me. Money matters to everyone who has grown up struggling with it. And even if you are just who you’ve said you are, we would still never be equals. I wouldn’t have anything to offer you. I could never treat you to anything special or spoil you. I probably couldn't even afford to go out and eat at places you like..”

“I like McDonalds…” Nico mutters.

Will rolls his eyes and continues. “...or go with you on vacations or anything. Either you would have to pay, and I would feel like I’m using you, or I’d hold you back all the time. We’re just too different.”

Nico shakes his head like he can’t believe this conversation is happening. “So, all this time I was worried about people only wanting to get to my dad’s money, and now you’re saying I fell for a guy who refuses to date me because of it?”

“I didn’t say that. I just say that I feel like I don’t know you anymore. I can’t piece it together. What I know of you and this… this _rich_ kid... “ It wasn’t intentional, but he can hear the contempt dripping from his voice at the word _rich_ , and he cringes internally.

Nico picked it up too, naturally. “Maybe it’s because you’ve got prejudices of your own? About rich people? That they are all spoiled and egocentric?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.

Will shrugs apologetically. He can’t claim that Nico is wrong, exactly…

“I’m sorry… I don’t know. Maybe. Or I just need some time to get used to this?”

“Ok. Time again, then...” Nico says, but he laughs bitterly in a way that tells Will it’s not ok at all.

Will skips his next class. He sits on the bench, thinking, for probably half an hour even if it’s far too cold to be lingering outside. A small voice inside of him tells him he just made a big mistake. Nico won’t wait for him forever, and Will probably hurt him by more or less accusing him of being a spoiled player type. It probably wasn’t even fair to Nico. But Will can’t help the way he feels, and just throwing himself in Nico’s arms and hoping it will all work out wouldn’t have been right either. He needs to calm down and get some perspective. And perhaps he needs to explain to Nico about everything else that has happened to him since Friday. Perhaps then, he would understand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, this chapter ended on a rather sad note, and there were a lot of difficult conversations. But fear not, things will start looking up from here...
> 
> Now, I could probably have shortened this, but I didn't want it only to be a love story - it's also about friendship, family and forgiveness. The complex divorce and backstories of Will's parents is actually a part that is kind of personal to me, since it draws a lot upon my own background. My parents tried to have an open marriage, and it ended in divorce (even if it wasn't like Apollo and Naomi, obviously). I don't think there's something wrong with polyamory or open marriages - I know others who have made it work - but I think the main point is that you always have to be honest in a relationship. Agreeing to something, be it sex, the terms of your relationship, or the way you raise your kids, without really meaning it usually ends in tears and bitterness in the long run...
> 
> Also, another point is that there are always two sides to the story. I grew up thinking one of my parents cheated on the other, and I was kind of really angry with them and bitter about it. It wasn't until much later that I realized things weren't that simple... 
> 
> Ok, so that's that for now. Thank you for all the comments and kudos as always! I can't believe this story has >4k hits! When I started writing on AO3 I promised myself that I would only write for my own pleasure and post it for the chance that even one other person happened to like it... While that still holds true, there's no denying that it's really encouraging to hear that people like my work! :) For the sake of making conversation easier, I'm also on Tumblr now, although I have no idea what to do on the platform - but if you like to visit, I'm at :
> 
> https://www.tumblr.com/blog/thesunshineandrainbowsblog


	25. Nico

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, I know this is a bit late... but then again, it's got art, so it's ok, right? :) (more about that in the end notes)
> 
> Also, as always, thank you so much for reading and commenting! I'm starting to fear that this fic will end soon, what ever will I do then?? It's so much fun talking to you all...

Nico is feeling antsy when he’s coming down to breakfast on Saturday morning. Not because he’s nervous about breakfast though. It’s usually a rather predictable affair in the Hayden-Levesque-di Angelo household, the worst case scenario involving mostly debates about the right way to drink coffee or perhaps having to endure the would-be grown-ups bickering like four year olds.

No, the thing that makes him chew his nails into oblivion is the fact that he’s going to be spending most of the day with the soccer team, including, naturally, one particularly handsome and annoyingly charming captain. Things have been a bit awkward between him and Will since that conversation on the bench. Not unfriendly, or cold exactly. More guarded, like they’re at a stalemate, somehow. The question is, who is going to take the first step and really forgive the other? Damn, this is going to be one hell of an awkward day.

“Hey, stop obsessing…” Hazel says, jolting him back to the present, and the breakfast table.

“What?”

“I asked you to pass the milk…” she says and rolls her eyes.

Nico gives her a sheepish smile. “Sorry.”

Hazel pours milk in her tea and gives him a calculating look. “So, what are you thinking about? Let me guess - it’s tall, hot and blond?”

Nico considers for a split second to just deny doing anything of the sort, but it’s Hazel... “I just don’t know how to act around him anymore,” he confesses. “I mean, he’s blowing this whole thing out of proportion, isn’t he?”

Hazel doesn’t even ask what thing he’s talking about. This might, just possibly, be because he’s forced her to listen to him rambling about the whole ordeal, repeatedly, over the last couple of days. She just rolls her eyes. “And you’re still a bit upset about the fact that he suspected you of outing him…” she says slyly, reaching across the table to snatch the peanut butter from right under his nose, like if he didn’t have problems enough already.

“We talked about this already…” Nico sighs, and if he didn’t know better he could have sworn he hears his sister muttering something that sounds suspiciously like _You don’t say..._ He ignores that little barb and continues his rant. “But yeah, a little. I mean, I get why that was the initial reaction. But still. It hurts, Hazel.”

“I know it does. And I know he was hurt by the fact that you didn’t trust him enough to tell him about yourself…”

Nico groans. “You know it wasn’t like that…” They have talked about this a million times. In the beginning, when he didn’t know anyone, it’s true that he didn’t trust people. But after that, it was more about finding the right opportunity to tell them.

“I know… but he doesn’t,” Hazel smirks. “Gods, you two are both so stubborn it would be hilarious if you weren’t hurting,” she sighs.

Nico just glares at her and gets back to his bowl of cereal and his giant mug of black, dark roast, Italian brew. No matter how evil the world is, coffee will always be his friend. He can trust coffee...

“Do you want to know what I think?” Hazel asks.

“Not necessarily,” Nico deadpans.

Hazel, being Hazel, ignores him and tells him anyway. “I think you are miffed that he was outed, because now you’ll never know if he would come out for you…”

Nico mumbles something inaudible in return because, yeah. Hazel is not wrong. And he knows it isn’t Will’s fault, but… he’s disappointed. With something. Someone. The universe, perhaps?

By the time he swings his bag over his shoulder and straddles his black Ducati, Hazel has convinced him to try to at least act natural around Will. And he plans to. She’s right. They don’t need to talk things out right now, they just need to play soccer and chill. Right? They can act professional…

It’s pure fluke that he arrives at the exact same time as Will steps out of Cecil’s old pick-up, but he wouldn’t be Nico di Angelo if he didn’t try to make the most out of the situation. He parks his bike right next to the truck, takes his helmet off and shakes his hair out in that special way that always manages to get him laid, or at least it did when he was with Tyler. He greets the other two with what he hopes passes as a casual nod and a quick flick of his eyebrows.

Cecil whistles, obviously impressed, and nods his approval “Nice bike…”

“Thanks,” Nico says, trying to look chill. He doesn’t want to show off his belongings exactly, but keeping up pretense is pointless at the moment anyway. He can just as well show them his true self. All of it. And if Solace doesn’t fall in love at least a little bit with Nico’s darling bike, he’s probably not the right guy for him anyway. He sneaks a glance at Will, who’s gaping slightly. Is he drooling a little? Nico feels somewhat smug, but tries not to show it. He’s going to act normal around Will. Not too flirty, but also not too distant. They have to find their way back to baseline before they can move on, Hazel is right about that. Even if one moment of a slightly dazed Will Solace makes him want to throw the whole plan out the window and drop to his knees. Begging for forgiveness. Not… that other thing you do on your knees. Screw his dirty, dirty mind…

Although he wouldn’t mind… Nope, not going there. Arrgggh, he really, really needs to get laid.

Soccer practice is better than he expected, all things considered. They work well together and Will is back to his normal, sunshiney self, laughing and goofing around with the team - and with Nico. Although Nico can’t help noticing they way he’s tensing up around him sometimes. It’s to be expected he supposes, but it’s still annoying. Right now. Nico just wants everything to be alright again. He’s prepared to forgive Will if he could just do the same. He just wants them to be together. To flirt, touch, kiss…

At that exact moment, Will turns around and throws his head back and laughs at something Cecil says. Fuck, he’s so gorgeous with his straw blond curls and those impossibly blue eyes. Somehow, he manages to look good even in the horrible orange color of their school. To be honest, he may just be the one person on the planet who can pull it off. And that smile that could melt glaciers and probably start wars, if wars were ever started by gay guys - or women - which Nico is pretty sure isn’t the case. Anyway, there’s also the freckles. Oh, sweet Jesus, the freckles… Nico wants to kiss every single one of them.

His heart constricts with emotion. He knows he should probably have stopped pining after Will at this point, if he had had any pride left. But he's so in love with this boy, it can’t be helped. He needs to fix this. Needs to make Will forgive him. Make Will love him. Somehow. Fuck, why does it have to be so complicated?

They all go for lunch together after practice. Nico wants to scream when the girl at the register flirts blatantly with Will, and he flashes one of his megawatt smiles at her in return. Fuck her, that’s Nico’s smile. It’s supposed to be for him. Violent waves of jealousy tear through his body. For a second, he wonders if being together with Will would even be possible, or if it would kill him. But then again, if they are not together, Will is going to be with someone else and that’s just… no. He _has_ to fix it. Even if Solace is making things much, much harder than they should be.

.oOo.

“Hey you should close your mouth before something flies in there…”

“Fuck off Lou Ellen, I wasn’t staring..:”

“Oh, you were staring Nico, you’re just lucky I’m the only observant one in the room right now.”

Nico gives Lou Ellen one of his signature death glares, but she doesn’t seem affected. She only snickers. Nico likes Lou Ellen. She’s far too similar to Hazel for him not to. But it also means she has the same ability to annoy him. And to see right through him like that, damn it. Because she’s got a point - he has a hard time Not Looking. It’s not Nico’s fault that the guy is so fucking gorgeous. And that the work they are supposed to do for the stupid Valentine’s dance is so damn boring. And annoying. He might be supporting the thing for Lou’s sake, but he still hates everything that even remotely reminds him of Cupid with passion.

“I thought you guys talked things out?” Lou asks, eyes full of genuine curiosity. Either Will didn’t talk to her, or she’s a very good actor.

Nico shrugs. “Sort of. But we didn’t really get all the way I guess.”

“So, are you still mad at him?” Lou Ellen asks.

Nico shakes his head and picks absentmindedly at some of the scraps of pink paper lying about on the table. “Not really,” he says. “Perhaps I’m still a bit hurt that he didn’t trust me. And evidently still doesn’t. Or why ever he makes such a fucking big deal out of the thing with my dad, I don’t even get it...”

Lou gives him a thoughtful look. “I don’t think it’s about trust, Nico. Or about you, necessarily…” She makes a face like if she’s considering what to do next. Then she sighs. “Look,” she says. “Since the two of you obviously have a hard time understanding each other right now, I’m going to try and help. But it’s a one time offer, since I don’t like to get involved in stuff…”

Nico rolls his eyes and tries, unsuccessfully, to repress a snort. Lou Ellen always gets involved in everything. But he actually needs her right now, so he’s not going to remark on that. “Ok,” he says instead, struggling to keep his face straight.

Lou either doesn’t notice his reaction, or she chooses to ignore it. “The thing is,” she says, “I think Will is more freaked out about the idea of going out with someone like you than he’s really mad for you not telling him. Or, perhaps he’s a bit mad about that, but it wouldn’t have mattered if you were just a friend.”

“But why does it matter now? I mean, it’s just so surreal. I’ve had guys wanting to date me because of my money, not refusing me because of them…” Nico mutters.

Lou rolls her eyes and sighs pointedly as if to tell him he’s a bit stupid. “Exactly Nico. And Will is probably terrified of people suspecting he’s one of them.”

“But…” Nico starts, but Lou interrupts him.

“No, listen. Did you know that Katie's parents didn’t want her to go out with him at first? Because he didn’t even have a car and she had to pick him up for school? They thought ‘she could do better’ and, well, it was rough on him.”

“Auch…” Nico says. Even he can understand that remark would have had to have stung. “But you know, my dad doesn’t care about that. He’s got enough money himself to know better than to be impressed by it. He cares more about Will’s soccer skills… Did you know what he told me after watching our first game?”

“No?” Lou says curiously.

“He basically pointed out Will, and said ‘That blonde one, you should marry him. You two make a great team… a real soccer player.’ And I promise you, he didn’t ask about his parents or financial status…”

Lou laughs. “Well, perhaps where you come from, people don’t care, but here people tend to do. Like, those who have a little more money than others can be a bit stuck up sometimes. Take Drew… shit, how many times has she just happened to mention how much her dad makes, or when they bought that new house with the pool… she wouldn’t shut up about it.”

Nico shrugs and fights down the urge to roll his eyes. “Well, where I come from, people can be superficial idiots too, you know? Just like here… and everywhere. I guess I’m a bit hurt that Will assumes we would be like that just because of our financial situation.”

“I get that,” Lou says. “And I don't think he does. But his mom has raised him to be proud of the fact that they struggle, but survive. Like, she might have had a tendency to be prejudiced about people who have had it too easy in life. And I know that was an issue between Katie and Will too. He never felt like she really understood him, because she never had any real problems.”

“Problems aren’t just financial, though…” Nico mutters.

“I know that. And so does Will, you know? I think it was just a shock for him, and he’s not been able to figure how he would be able to date you without always feeling like what he has to offer is not enough…”

Nico tries to understand, he really does. But it just sounds so stupid in his ears… “He said something like that, but it’s just ridiculous…”

“Is it though?” Lou asks and gives him a challenging look. “I don’t mean that it’s necessarily true, but is it so strange that he’s concerned? I mean, in a normal relationship, you would save up and go on vacation, or you would spoil each other with little gifts and stuff. What would you do? Have you even thought about it? What’s even fair? That you pay for everything, since you’ve got the money? Or that Will uses the small savings he's struggled to scrape together to pay for something that makes no difference to you anyway?”

Nico has to confess he hasn’t really thought about it, because it wouldn’t matter to him. He would do whatever Will wanted, he supposes. “I don’t know Lou,” he answers with a shrug. “I don’t know and I don’t care. We would work it out somehow… But it shouldn’t be a showstopper if we really like each other, that’s just crazy.”

“Nico, it’s been… what? A week since he found out? Four days since you talked? He needs time to get used to the idea. To get to know the whole you and figure out what a relationship with you would look like, because whatever he had imagined isn’t it.”

“Time again…” he mutters, a scowl darkening his face. Nico has never been the patient type.

.oOo.

When he gets home, he talks to his dad for probably the first time in years. Not that they don’t _speak_ on a more or less daily basis, but it was ages since they _Talked_. It’s not that he doesn’t trust his dad, exactly. But he also… doesn’t trust him, exactly. At least not when it comes to relationships. His father’s track record is all but great. Nico doesn’t really plan it this time either, but when he comes home, his dad asks _Questions_ , and it just so happens that he answers this time. Mostly because there are things he doesn’t know who else to ask.

It starts as they run into each other in the kitchen, both on a scavenger hunt for leftovers. Nico has his head in the fridge, checking if there might perhaps be any from lunch when he hears his father’s voice from behind.

“So, how was practice, son?”

“Fine”

He rummages around a bit and strikes gold, fishing out a plate with cannelloni Rosa has prepared for him. At least, he hopes it was for him. But then again, if someone leaves a plate of Rosa’s cannelloni unattended in the fridge, it’s their mistake, Nico reasons.

“Oh, is that cannelloni..?” his dad asks.

“Finders, keepers...” Nico says with a satisfied smirk.

His father practically pouts, and Nico almost can't withhold a small snort.

“Share and I’ll show you where I hid the rest of the macarons.”

Nico gasps indignantly. “I knew it! Are there any chocolate ones left?”

They sit in silence for a while, sharing food, before his father asks the question Nico has been waiting for since last Sunday.

“So, what’s the deal with this son of Apollo? It’s the blond one, right? The striker on your team?”

Nico nods, trying to think of a way to answer the question.

“I should have seen the resemblance…” his father chuckles instead and Nico shrugs. He can hardly remember Apollo, but he’s pretty sure he’s met the man at some point. He googled him after he found out, obviously, and his father is right. Will is the spitting image of his dad, except for the freckles.

Hades doesn’t seem willing to let his initial question go, though. “So? What happened between you two? Why was he running? And why did your friends think he would be hiding out here? “

Nico sighs. “So many questions…”

“Excuse me for taking an interest in my son’s life. It’s the first I’ve heard or seen of your friends here Nico, except for during games. I’m just curious.”

Nico gives him a short version of the story. He leaves out most of the details of their relationship, but his dad manages to put the pieces together anyway.

“Your friends seemed to be under the impression the two of you were an item?” he asks cautiously.

“It’s complicated,” Nico says flatly, but the look on his dad’s face makes him go on. He heaves a deep sigh and tells him the highlights of that story too. Well, the ones suited for a parent’s ears anyway.

“I just can’t understand why he thinks it’s so bad that I happen to have a trust fund and live in Olympus Cove? It’s still me, right?” Nico asks earnestly when he’s done. In for a nickel…

His dad chuckles and Nico glares at him. He might think Nico’s petty teenage problems are funny, but to him, they are most certainly not.

“This is good news, Nico. You should be thankful!”

Nico raises his eyebrows. “Yeah. It’s great that the guy I’m crushing on can’t stand the idea of dating me. Fantastic news, really.”

“Nico…” his dad says and squeezes his shoulder in a way that is probably supposed to be comforting. “There are very few people who are neutral when it comes to money and power. Some are drawn to it and impressed by it, others are very suspicious of it. It’s the first category you have to worry about. If this boy is part of the second group, that’s a good thing. At least you know he’s not going to use you.”

“Yeah… I get that, but it doesn’t help me if he wants nothing to do with me at all…” Nico mutters, pouting slightly and comforts himself with the last of the macarons. He could have saved one for Hazel, he supposes. But he _needs_ it right now. At least, she’s got Frank… All he’s got is chocolate.

“He’ll come around Nico. Don’t worry. His father seemed to be under the impression he is quite smitten with you actually…” Hades smirks and Nico’s head perks up a bit at this piece of information.

His dad suddenly sighs, loses his focus and stares dreamily into the space behind him. “Your mother was just like that… She didn’t want this life either, you know? But I’m sure she would have accepted it sooner or later if it hadn’t been for… yes, well. You know the story...”

Truth to be told, Nico doesn’t know the whole story exactly. He knows they fell in love when they were very young, and his mother got pregnant with Bianca. But then, all he knows is that his dad left her when his family more or less forced him to marry Persephone or he’d be disinherited, but they continued their romance on the side and thus Nico came into existence, leading in the long run to Hades’ family cutting him off anyway.

“But… did mom even know about… your situation?” Nico asks.

“She knew Nico. Of course she did. I wanted to marry her, you know? I would have done it too. Left all of it behind voluntarily…” he makes a gesture as to point out their general wealth.

Nico frowns. It doesn’t make sense. “So, why didn’t you?” he asks, tone a bit clipped. Suddenly, this conversation has turned into something else entirely.

Hades sighs and there’s regret and pity in his eyes. “I was young and stupid, I suppose. Scared. Maria didn’t want me to sacrifice everything, and she managed to make me believe she didn’t want me. By the time I realized I had been an idiot, it was too late. I was married and… well, you know the rest of the story.”

Nico’s jaw is tense and his lips are a thin line as he scrutinizes his father. They never talk much about this subject, and even if he doesn’t want to fight about it, he still needs to make it understood that he thinks his dad was a douchebag for cheating. And for leaving his mom. Not that he’s ungrateful that he’s alive or anything, but…

“But you still continued to see her. Us. You cheated on your wife,” he states. He doesn’t judge exactly, but it’s probably clear what he thinks of the behaviour.

His father shuts his eyes briefly, and he seems to deflate. “I did. Gods, Nico, I know it was wrong. But I can’t regret it. I can’t regret you…” their eyes meet and Nico is unsure of what to say. His dad continues. “But you have to understand… We weren’t happy back then, me and Persephone. Neither of us wanted to be together. Not like that. She married me for money and status, and to make her family happy. I thought it gave me the right to do what I wanted as long as nobody found out. When they did anyway, she lost both the money and her pride at first, and I realized too late how much I had hurt her.”

Nico gives him a suspicious look. Sure, his stepmother can be a superficial snob sometimes, but he’s always had the impression that she loves his dad. And that he loves her back, in some twisted way.

His father smiles. “It was fifteen years ago Nico… and what I didn’t know back then was that Persephone wanted to learn how to love me. She wanted us to be happy, and I didn’t make it easy. It took me years of being bitter and stubborn, both for not being able to marry Maria, and then for losing her completely, but with time, I have learned to love Persephone too. It might not be with the passion I felt for your mother, Nico, but she’s my life companion now. She’s stood by me through it all, even when I didn’t give her much reason to. I know she’s never been like a mother to you or your siblings, but she has accepted you and that’s more than I could have asked for under the circumstances. I do think she’s even fond of you, in her own way. Do you know she’s always defending you to other people, and telling everyone who wants to listen about your accomplishments?”

Nico raises his eyebrows. He did not know that, to be honest, and he finds himself respecting his stepmother a little more. Not necessarily because of what his dad told him about her being fond of them, but for everything she’s had to endure.

“So, what about Hazel’s mom?” Nico suddenly asks, because that little act of indiscretion doesn’t fit into his dad’s story.

His father sighs and shakes his head. “That, my son, is a very different story, and I don’t know if I want to tell you that. I haven’t told Hazel, because of what I would have to tell her about her mother… Not that I was without blame in that ugly business, but there were… extenuating circumstances.”

“Extenuating circumstances?”

“It’s a story for another day, son, and one Hazel deserves to hear first.”

Sleep doesn’t come easily for Nico that night, and he finds himself chatting with Jason for a bit longer than he probably should have in an attempt to distract himself from all the thoughts. But his heart is lighter too, and he has made his decision. He is going to fix this! Even if Will acts like an idiot sometimes, Nico is pretty sure he feels the same way. If Lou Ellen is right, they have both been pretty stubborn and perhaps it’s time for Nico to bury his pride and be the bigger man. Well, metaphorically speaking… As far as he knows, Will may just be bigger than him in all the literal senses.

And no, that thought isn’t at all helpful when it comes to making him fall asleep… _Damn!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, we are closing in on the end! Only one chapter to go in the actual story, really. I am still thinking about dividing it into two though, but perhaps I'll leave it a long one, we'll see. I still haven't finished writing the epilogue, so I'm thinking you could all tell me which sub plots and side characters you wish to see more of? Some will be wrapped up in the final chapter, but I haven't really managed to produce a happy ending for everyone yet :D 
> 
> Anyway, I commissioned (?) well, I asked nicely) an artwork for the last chapter, but the artist   
> (https://www.tumblr.com/blog/annawolfart) spit out these two "character studies" as well, like out of nowhere. Let's just say that it's more than I could ever have wished for <3<3<3 If you have Tumblr, go over there and give her some love, for gods' sake!! 
> 
> (And I'm also on there now, @thesunshineandrainbowsblog - funny story is that I went onto the platform to send something to another writer, and that's where I found an artwork for her fic, made by @annawolfart and I thought, hey, you can always ask nicely, right? And it payed off... so even if I still don't understand, like at all, how Tumblr works, I managed to get my fic illustrated on the first try. I'll call it beginners luck?)


	26. Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi there! I am sorry that I keep changing my mind, and the number of chapters... I had almost decided to post the last two chapters as one as they are both Will's pov, but then I tried to weave the end together with the epilogue, which I actually started writing, and I got stuck on like three sentences. And as I have to go out of town tomorrow for an errand (I know, crazy right?? I'll follow all the guidelines we have over here, obviously, and keep my distance from people...) I won't be able to finish it until Thursday, and I thought it was cruel to leave you all hanging on the rather depressing end of last chapter. So, there is the last but one chapter of the main story, and things are finally looking up for the boys! Enjoy!

When Nico calls for Will’s attention at the end of practice on Monday, Will’s heart soars with a mix of joy and hope, almost making him forget about the doubt he’s still harboring about their potential future. Nico is standing there, looking just as gorgeous as ever, his hair tied up in a messy bun and a grey hoodie over his soccer uniform. He’s bouncing a ball between his feet and knees, like it’s something he doesn’t even realize he’s doing. Shit, he is still so much in love with this guy it’s probably not healthy. He should do something about it before it causes any permanent damage, but he doesn’t exactly know what.

“So, do you want to practice some drills?” Nico asks, a shy smile playing on his lips.

Will takes a long sip of water from his bottle and nods before he has a chance to overthink it. “Sure.”

He wants to spend time with Nico, but he’s terrified as well. Mostly, he’s scared he’s going to do something stupid, like kiss him. They haven’t talked about things or reevaluated where they stand since that dreadful conversation on the bench last Wednesday. It was a bit tense between them for a couple of days, but they have managed to find a new normal after spending a large part of the Saturday together, both at the extra training session Coach had planned for the morning, and then continuing to help Katie and the others with preparations for Valentine’s day in the afternoon. The new normal means Nico keeps his distance, even if he’s perfectly friendly with Will. He has stopped flirting and they don’t “accidentally” touch like they used to before and they haven’t spent much time alone before now. Or none, actually. But Will can’t avoid him forever, and the soccer field has always been like a safe place for them. A place where they can be teammates and friends, no matter what is going on between them in the real world.

They take turns helping each other out. Nico is practicing cut backs with Will to help him tighten his dribbling technique, and Will is trying to help Nico get more force behind his strikes by doing one touch shots. Will is so happy about how natural it feels again, hanging out with Nico. When they leave the pitch and make their way towards the locker room they are talking about the next game and laughing.

“So, I talked to Lou Ellen the other day… and to Hazel.” Nico says suddenly.

Will wipes the sweat from his forehead with his shirt. He can’t help noticing how Nico’s eyes are drawn to his bare belly as he does so, and suddenly nothing feels safe anymore. He swallows hard and tries to keep his body from betraying him by blushing or shaking. Or worse.

“Oh?” he says, which isn’t much of an answer. Then again, it wasn’t actually a question.

“So… I guess I owe you an apology after all.” Nico says and gives him a sheepish smile.

Will raises an eyebrow. “You do?”

“Yeah… I guess I should have been more understanding about why you freaked out when you found out about dad and everything.

They have made it to the locker room and Will pulls out a towel to rub his face again. He’s stalling, and he knows it. But the thing is that he talked to Lou as well, and she thinks he could have gone easier on Nico for hiding his past. Or at least he shouldn’t have taken it so personal, apparently. The problem is just that as much as he’s theoretically ok with it, his heart doesn’t agree. He still feels like he won’t measure up or something. Like he’s got nothing to offer Nico. But that’s in his head, and not something he can blame Nico for. Lou is right about that - Nico never did anything to make him feel like he’s worth less.

He lets slip a small, dry laugh. “Lou has turned into quite the therapist lately… she talked to me as well, you know?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, she thinks I shouldn’t have taken your supposed crime of omitting information so personal. I mean, in a way Hazel did it too, right? And I wasn’t mad at her, so I probably shouldn’t blame you either…” Will confesses.

Nico’s eyes light up a little and Will’s heart takes one of those extra beats again. Sometimes he wonders if falling in love will take years off his life...

“So, you’re not mad at me anymore?”

“No… I mean, I don’t know if I ever was. Or ok, I was… but it was more that I freaked out, really.”

“Hm…” Nico says, biting his lip like if he’s unsure of what to say next.

Will suddenly feels the urge to explain himself a little more. “And you’ve got to understand, my whole life had just been turned upside down. It wasn’t only that I was outed, I also met my dad for the first time in eleven years, I found out that my mom has been lying to me for years and everything was just a mess. I couldn’t deal with one more secret being thrown at me like that…”

“Shit.. what happened?” Nico asks, looking concerned. His hand is reaching out as if he’s going to touch Will, but he withdraws it just as quickly when he catches himself. Will pretends not to notice. Instead he ends up telling Nico the whole story, and it feels like a big relief to get it off his chest.

“Fuck, Will, that’s… yeah, that’s rough. I really hope you work things out with your mom though…” Nico says when Will is done with his story. This time he does reach out to give Will’s shoulder a small squeeze.

“We will… it’s going to be ok, I’m sure. We just need some time…” he says and smiles at Nico.

They sit quietly for a couple of minutes before Nico takes a deep breath and gives Will a serious look. “And what about us? Are we going to work things out?”

Will’s stomach does a backflip and the air suddenly feels heavy with tension between them. “What do you mean? I think we are ok, aren’t we?” Will asks.

“Yeah… but. I mean. I still like you. As more than friends. Has that ship sailed, or?” Nico’s voice is light when he asks, like if it’s half a joke. But the dark eyes are serious and full of doubt.

Will thinks Nico must hear his heartbeat, it’s so loud, pounding in his throat. “I… I mean, I still like you too,” he confesses, but it feels almost like a lie. It’s the understatement of the year, if nothing else…

“So…” Nico looks half hopeful, half worried, but he raises his eyebrows anyway and continues. “Will you consider going out with me then? We could take it slow…” he suggests.

“I don’t know. I mean, I will consider it. I am thinking about it all the time. But I’m still struggling to understand what my place would be in your life…”

Nico frowns. “What do you mean? Like, I was thinking my boyfriend…? Partner? Significant other?” He looks like he thinks Will is a bit slow on the uptake and wants to add _Duh_.

“I know, but... It kind of sounds stupid when I say it out loud, but I just still feel like I have nothing to offer you… Like we wouldn’t be equals in a relationship somehow, and I could never measure up to all the hot, rich and famous dudes who will be constantly trying to seduce you behind my back.”

“You’re right…” Nico sighs and Will’s insides freeze before he adds. “That does sound stupid…”

He gets up and starts gathering his things. “You know what, I’m going to hit the shower… I won’t be long.” It’s kind of a silent agreement between them that they avoid each other in the shower. It would just be too weird…

“Nico…” Will pleads.

“I don’t know what I can say to make you understand that I don’t care about money or status or anything Will. I just want to be with you, ok?” he says before he disappears between the rows of lockers.

Will just sits there and thinks for a long while. What if Nico is right, and it’s all in his head? Perhaps he’s missing an opportunity of having something really amazing just because he’s prejudiced and scared? And a bit stubborn…

.oOo.

The next day at lunch, Nico makes an announcement. Half the soccer team is sitting together with Hazel, Katie, Lou, Lacy and Drew when he suddenly speaks up.

“Hey, everyone…” he starts.

All heads turn curiously to Nico, since it’s not often he draws attention to himself like that.

“So… My dad is insisting on throwing me a birthday party on Saturday, and you’re all invited of course. I mean, the whole team and the cheerleaders too. And any plus ones,” he says, the last part with a pointed look at Lou Ellen.

A buzz with questions break out around the table, like when, where, what kind of party, is there a dress code… etc. Nico and Hazel help answer all of them before Nico says. “I’m sorry if it’s a bit short notice, but I didn’t know about it before. It was supposed to be a surprise party, but Hazel managed to convince dad it would be a shame not to take the opportunity to invite some people from school as well.”

By Wednesday afternoon, people are still talking about little else but Nico’s birthday party. It seems most of those who have been invited, which is pretty much everyone Nico knows, have managed to reschedule any previous arrangements to be able to go. Since last weekend, news of Nico and Hazel’s other last name and the fact that they live up in Olympus Cove has spread like wildfire through the corridors. Naturally, everybody is dying for a chance to visit the home of a famous billionaire, and the members of the soccer team and cheerleading team have never been more popular, what with the possibility to come along as a guest.

Will hasn’t given Nico an answer yet. He both wants and doesn’t want to go. He realizes that a visit to Nico’s natural habitat - and getting to know his other friends and family - will either confirm or refute his fears of him not fitting into Nico’s life, and he’s scared of the outcome. Especially now when they are back to being comfortable around each other again. But still, Nico would take his not going as a rejection and Will is not ready for that decision either. Very much not ready.

He decides he’s going to let Nico know if he’s going or not later that afternoon. They have somehow managed to get paired up for a biology lab this morning since both their regular partners were absent, and they are going to meet up in the library to finish the report. Will has a free period first, and he has managed to convince Lou Ellen to go with him to the waffle house. He really needs to talk to her…

The talk turns out to consist mostly of Lou Ellen yelling at Will for being an idiot. Well, some things never change, he thinks.

“Are you kidding me William Solace?” she exclaims, throwing her arms out in a dramatic gesture, when he says he hasn’t decided about the party. “How could you even _consider_ not going?”

Will sighs and takes a bite of his waffle. “Let’s see… I have nothing appropriate to wear, I have no idea what kind of present you’re supposed to buy for the son of a billionaire, and I’m scared I’ll realize I have no business being in Nico’s life. I mean, what if his rich celebrity ex is there? Fuck, Lou… it’s terrifying.”

She rolls her eyes dramatically. “Oh, I didn’t realize you were such a coward…” then she bends forwards and points her fork threateningly at his face. “Get a grip and grow a pair for fuck’s sake.”

And just as he’s about to answer, she interrupts him again. “And it’s Nico, Will. Gods, like you talk, one might think you were invited to visit the president…”

“Well, Olympus Cove might not be the White House, but it’s still like… a different world. I don’t know anything about their customs.”

“Aaaarrrgghhh….” Lou roars in frustration, looking like she’s two seconds away from banging him on the head. “Will. It. Is. Nico. You know him. He wouldn’t have invited everyone from school, expecting us to show up in tuxedos with expensive gifts. He invited us because he wants his friends there.” She makes a paus and shakes her head when she sees Will’s expression. “You still don’t get it, do you? Their dad might be loaded, but Will - Nico and Hazel chose Long Island high over the fancy prep school up in Olympus for a reason. They _want_ to be around normal people… Because they _are_ normal people. Normal people who happen to have a rich dad. So what?”

“Hm… when you put it like that…?”

Will supposes she has a point. He never even thought about why Nico and Hazel go to L.I. high. He thought they might not have gotten into the private one on short notice, but he realizes that’s a bit unlikely. The Haydens would have enough money to solve such problems easily and they must have planned for moving a long time anyway.

When he gets back to school, Nico is already waiting for him in the library, books and papers spread out over the whole table.

“Sorry I’m late, but I brought you coffee to make up for it…”

“Thanks,” Nico says and takes off the lid. “Brewed, dark roast? Italian blend?” he asks.

“Yeah…” Will says and gets back to his books. “That’s your favorite, right?”

Nico slams his hand down on the table, sending books and papers flying. Will jumps in his seat. “What?”

“This, you idiot. This is what you have to offer me…”

Will just blinks at him in confusion.”Coffee?”

Nico makes a face, like he thinks Will is a bit retarded and continues. “You said you had nothing to offer me. That you couldn’t compete with my rich and famous ex, remember…?”

“I didn’t say exactly….” Will says, flushing scarlet. Ok, so Nico saw right through his jealousy. What else is new?

“But that’s kind of what you meant, right?”

Will shrugs.

“Ok, so, let me tell you something about my ex. I dated Tyler for almost a year. And every time I asked him to bring me coffee, he brought me an americano with a dash of milk…” Nico explains.

“Why?” Will frowns. “You hate milk in coffee…”

“Exactly, but _he_ likes it. And in his world, most things are mainly about Tyler, so he never even took a moment to register that I might like something else…”

“Oh…”

“But you care about people, Will. You see them. You see me, and not my father’s son. And then there’s the fact that you are like a genuine ray of sunshine, always positive and kind and generous with your smiles. But you also never suck up to people or take shit from them. You call me out on my bullshit and you won’t let me get away with moping around and being too cynical. You are fun to hang out with and you laugh at my lame jokes. Don’t you get it? My life is better with you in it. That’s what you offer me. Happiness. And that’s something money can’t buy, believe me, people have tried…”

Will is completely dumbfounded by that little confession; it kind of came out of nowhere…

“Wow… is that really how you see me? I never understood why you bothered…”

“Yes, William. That’s why I bother. And because you’re hot as fuck, that helps too…” Nico says, with a cocky smirk, but Will can see that he’s blushing slightly. “I guess I was suspicious because I never understood what _you_ see in _me_ , if it isn’t the money. I feel like I’ve got little else going for me sometimes.” He ends his speech with a small shrug and a sheepish smile.

“Nico…” Will says, giving him an incredulous look. “I can’t believe you’d say that. You’re like the smartest guy I know, and you’re beautiful and funny and witty. You always find the right thing to say. I love your sarcasm and the way you care about things even when you pretend you don’t. It’s adorable…”

Nico narrows his eyes and pouts. “We talked about this - I’m not adorable…”

Will tries to keep a straight face, but it’s impossible. He bursts out in a fit of giggles worthy of a middle schooler with a crush. “Sorry…” he says between bursts of laughter. “Absolutely not. Not adorable… Look at you, cool emo-dude, I see it now…”

“Fuck you Solace…” Nico mutters, but he can’t hold back either and starts laughing.

Nico’s laugh is like the most beautiful sound in the world and Will never wants it to stop. Their eyes lock and and Will feels the familiar warmth bloom, like a burning ache in his gut. Nico’s face turns into something more serene and Will wonders if he feels it too.

“Look, Will…” he says. “I know that you’re scared of going out with me because you think there’s a whole different side to me that you don’t know about, right?”

Will shrugs.

“So, get to know that side. Please. Come to the party, see where I live and watch my father go all in to impress what he thinks are important people. It doesn’t get any worse than that, I promise. And then we can have a conversation where you actually have all the facts instead of just assuming things…”

“Ok.”

“Yeah?” Nico asks, his whole face lighting up.

Will smiles, suddenly feeling all shy. “I’ll come to your party, but I still don’t know what to wear. Or what to get you…”


	27. Will

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Friday everyone! I present to you, finally, the mushy, cheesy, happy ending of this story... As promised! If you're not into that sort of thing, be warned. It's clichéd, it's romantic and I've tried to squeeze far too much information into this ending. 
> 
> Even so, I didn't manage to make room for all the loose ends I wanted to tie up, but that's why I've planned for an epilogue! So, if there's anything you wonder about, pls let me know in the comments (or on Tumblr, link below)
> 
> Also, thank you for waiting patiently for this last part, and for commenting and leaving Kudos! And I'm sorry that I haven't had time to answer all the comments this week, I was traveling and had to read them on my phone, which doesn't have english spell check, which means autocorrect tries to turn everything I write into some random word in my native language. I read them all though, and I've tried to make room for at least one of the suggestions in this very chapter as I edited it! (No spoilers, you'll see....)

Nico’s not-so-secret birthday party is in full swing when Will arrives with Cecil, Katie and Lou Ellen. Will actually admires Katie for being here at all, but she’s done a complete one eighty on him since he came out as gay. Perhaps it’s to make up for her part in outing him, but he hopes she’s genuinely managed to reevaluate her feelings for him and sees him as a friend. She’s probably also suffering from a severe case of fear of missing out. Rumors say there might even be celebrities attending this party, after all…

The group all stop and stare in awe at the enormous house in front of them before continuing inside. The architecture is some odd mix between contemporary minimalistic and greek temple style mansion with huge panorama windows on the top floors and pillars supporting an asymmetrical roof. The walls are obsidian black and shiny, with details in grey marble. A tall, dark man with a full three piece suit greets them in the door, and Will suddenly feels terribly underdressed and generally out of place. Nico had assured him that there wasn’t a particular dress code, and anything between smart casual and cocktail attire would be fine. He had pretended to understand what that meant, and ended up choosing a pair of grey, tight, chinos that Lou insisted makes his ass look nice, and a blue button down shirt with a jumper over. Now, he wishes he had at least worn a tie.

Before he has finished panicking though, Nico comes into the hallway, looking like a dream in a black blazer, a white and blue striped t-shirt and dark blue jeans. It’s definitely not a three piece suit, and Will relaxes.

“Happy birthday,” he says and gives Nico an awkward hug. He smells amazing, as always, and Will has to fight the urge to press his nose into the soft black hair. “Aren’t you colorful today?” he asks with a shrewd smile. He doesn’t think he’s seen Nico in blue jeans before.

Nico rolls his eyes, and punches the man in the door - who has started coughing to hide a laugh - lightly on the arm. “Shut up Jules…” he says, but his lips twitch. “Dad let me get out of wearing a suit if I didn’t wear all black…” he shrugs.

“Well, you look amazing…” Will says and smiles shyly.

Nico blushes and turns to greet the others. Then he introduces them all to the door man, which surprises Will a little. Evidently, his relationship with his driver slash butler is a quite friendly one. “This is Jules Albert, by the way. Jules, this is Will, Katie, Cecil and Lou Ellen…” he says.

Jules Albert offers them a small bow. “I have seen the two of you on the soccer field, of course…” he tells Will and Cecil. “And this young lady is one of the cheerleaders if I’m not mistaken?” he continues, nodding in Katie’s direction. “That’s a fine routine you’ve got there, much more professional than the cheerleaders at Nico’s old school. Do you compete as well?” he asks politely.

“We do, actually,” Katie says, smiling brightly at the fact that someone takes an interest in her sport and sees it as more than just waving poms around. “We won the state championships last season…”

They are interrupted by the arrival of Mr Hayden himself. He’s shorter than Will would have guessed from the pictures he has seen, and looks a lot friendlier in real life too. He could probably be intimidating if he wanted to, Will supposes, with his sharp features, dark eyes and confident posture, but he’s got a twinkle in his eyes that makes him less so.

“Ah, Nico… there you are…” Mr Hayden says and claps Nico on the shoulder. He greets them all politely as Nico introduces them, and when he gets to Will he smiles and nods recognition. “Ah, yes. Mr Solace - the man with the most impressive right foot I’ve seen in years…”

Will blushes scarlet and tries to sound smooth when he greets Nico’s dad with a “Nice to meet you sir, and please call me Will.”

“Well, Will. I’m glad we managed to find you again, eh? We wouldn’t have wanted the team to lose it’s best striker…” he says with a wink.

“Dad, we talked about this… No embarrassing my friends… or me...” Nico groans.

“Nico, son, it’s my job as a parent, didn’t you know? I could tell them about that time when…”

“Noooo, no stories, please.” Nico interrupts him.

Mr Hayden laughs heartily and claps Will on the shoulder. “I’m just glad Nico has finally met a decent soccer player…”

Nico groans again and tries to clarify the situation. “Dad, I told you we’re not actually…” but his dad doesn’t listen.

“...you know,” he continues in a conspiratorial tone, “I don’t want to criticize any of his old boyfriends or anything but that last one played _Lacrosse_ , if you can believe it? Such a weird sport, running around with a ball in a little net on a stick…” he says, shaking his head.

Will looks desperately at Nico and his friends, hoping for some kind of way out of this weird conversation. Lou and Cecil both look like Christmas has come early, and they want to bring out their phones to document. Nico is obviously trying not to die from embarrassment, and Katie just looks a bit awkward.

Jules Albert steps in to save them all. “Now, Sir, you don't want to scare off Nico’s new friends before they’ve even had a drink…” he says, and gives Nico a small wink.

“Ah,” Mr Hayden says, nodding in understanding. “Of course not. I’m just excited to meet these talented young men…” he turns to both Cecil and Will. “Perhaps you didn’t know that I was a rather promising soccer player myself in my youth… Before I blew my knee and had to go into the family business instead.”

The last part has Nico and Jules Albert miming along behind his back and sharing a look.

“Oki, dad.” Nico says and steers him around until he’s facing the corridor to the right. “Now, I’m sure you’ve got important guests to attend to; I can show my friends around…”

Nico turns to them and shrugs. “I’m sorry about my dad… he’s a bit obsessed with soccer, but as long as you don’t ever mention American football in his presence, you should be fine. If you do, I’m not saving you from the two hour long rant that’s coming about calling something football when you’re allowed to run around with the ball in your hands...”

Nico shows them around the open parts of the house. There’s a large room, almost like a ballroom with a bar, where there’s music and most of the guests seem to be gathered. Nico points out a lot of people, and introduces them to a few, but Will doesn’t recognize a single one. Not until Nico leads them down a corridor and out into a large, open space with huge panorama windows and floor to ceiling glass doors, leading outside. Half of the room is designed as a relaxation area with a group of reclining chairs and little tables next to a huge pool. The other half is more like a game room, with a ping pong table, a dart board and a large media center in front of a set of couches and arm chairs. In the middle there’s a bar where most of their friends seem to be hanging out.

“This is where the real party is…” Nico says with a grin. “I don’t even know half of the people dad is entertaining in the ballroom.”

Some of Nico’s old friends and a couple of relatives are gathered around the gaming area, but the two groups are slowly merging as the night goes on. Will is introduced to Nico’s second cousins, Percy and Jason, Percy’s girlfriend Annabeth, Hazel’s boyfriend Frank and a couple of other people he can’t remember the names of.

They all seem nice enough. Frank and Hazel must be the cutest couple of all times, and Will is not the only one who seems to think so. Drew and Lacy both coo over them and swear they are both going to find adorable boyfriends like that one day. Both Hazel and Frank flush scarlet at this, but they are interrupted by a dark haired guy with a big, toothy smile and eyes twinkling with mischief. He pops his head in between Drew and Lacy and throws his arms around their shoulders.

“Ladies, ladies…. if you are looking for adorable boys, you have to look no further. Leo is here for you,” the guy says with a small bow and flashes Nico and Will a cheeky grin. Will thinks he strongly reminds him of a latino version of Kevin Brooks, although this Leo character seems to be blessed with a bit more humor, which makes his ridiculous flirting kind of cute.

Will briefly wonders why Kevin isn’t here, but before he can finish the thought Nico steps in and cocks his head, rolling his eyes at his friend and heaving an exasperated sigh. “Leo, aren’t you here with Piper and Jason? One would think the two of them would be enough to deal with even for you, man...”

Leo’s eyes widen in mock offense and he grins at Nico and makes some sort of grand gesture with his arms. “Hey, I’ll let you know there’s plenty of this bad boy supreme to go around. Never let it be said Leo Valdez ever turned down a pretty lady in need. Or a cute guy for that matter...”

“Stop flirting and come help us decide who’s going to represent us in the annual dart championship...” a girl with braids in her long, dark hair and friendly eyes interrupts him and drags Leo by the arm. “I’m Piper by the way…”

Will shakes her hand, and briefly wonders about their relationship. But he realizes he won’t be able to keep up with all the new people and who’s dating who. “Dart championship?” he asks instead, raising a curious eyebrow.

“It’s a tradition,” Leo says as if it explains everything. “And I’m representing us, of course. I remember the near-death experience I had last year only too well, and I’m not letting Jason near anything pointy after he’s been drinking Prosecco ever again…”

“Oh, does that include your bony ass too Valdez?” Nico says, snickering to himself, evidently smug about his witty remark.

Leo makes a face like he wants to inform everyone exactly how nice his ass is, but Piper bursts out laughing and punches his arm. “Anyway, I’m better than you at dart anyway and we need to beat team Percy and Annabeth this year or we’ll never hear the end of it,” she says, dragging Leo away in the general direction of where, Will assumes, their third partner is hovering by the bar.

“So, Solace… do you play?” Nico asks, raising a cocky eyebrow at him.

Will shrugs, trying not to look too smug. He knows he’s good, and this could really be a chance to impress Nico’s friends. Not that he cares about that kind of thing, obviously. But if he wanted to...

The annual dart championship turns out to be a tough competition with several worthy opponents, but in the end, it stands between Will and a mildly scary girl called Reyna. Will is painfully aware of bets being made, some of which concerns whether or not Reyna will let him live if he beats her… Will almost considers letting her win. Almost. But he can’t be a coward. He has always had impeccable aim, no matter what projectile he’s kicking or throwing, and people would be suspicious if he started to miss all of a sudden. And besides, there are witnesses. His friends wouldn’t let him die… At least he doesn’t think they would...

When he throws the winning dart, some of Nico’s friends groan. “Ramirez, I had twenty bucks on you… and my honor…” Percy complains.

“Wait a minute,” Reyna complains, holding up a hand. “I want a rematch, and I’ll bet you all double or nothing I can take him,” she says.

Will shrugs. It’s not like he can back out now.

“And to make it exciting, the loser goes in the pool with Nico…” Percy suggests and everybody whoops.

“What?” Will exclaims at the same time as Nico protests.

“I’m not going to end up in the pool…”

“Nico, it’s your eighteenth birthday, of course you are. When you least expect it…” Percy says and laughs. Connor looks at him with stars in his eyes. If Will didn’t know better, he would think the man was in love…

Will wants to protest that he doesn’t have any other clothes, but Reyna just cracks her knuckles and stares at him. “Scared, Solace?”

_Definitely_ , he thinks. “Not a chance,” he says while he briefly wonders how she even knows his last name. Then again, he gets a feeling most of Nico’s old friends know who he is. A handsome, dark haired guy, who Will recognizes just too well as Nico’s ex from those pictures he googled, has glared daggers at him most of the evening, but the famous Tyler has kept to himself and a small group of friends by the relaxation area the whole time. It doesn’t seem like he’s too friendly with Nico’s relatives and their clique, which kind of is a relief since Will kind of likes them.

Will and Reyna are well matched opponents, and the game is tied again when it’s time for Will’s last throw. As he concentrates and takes his aim, she leans in a little and whispers. “You could be half naked with Nico in the pool soon if you miss this, you know…”

Naturally, Will loses his focus and his last throw is completely off. “Oh, come on…” He glares at her, but she just smirks.

“Focus is an artform too, Solace…” she deadpans. “You’ll thank me later anyway.”

About an hour later, Will almost thinks they have forgotten about the pool thing. Almost. He is talking to Nico by the bar when it happens. They are both a bit tipsy from too much Prosecco and apparently, they are standing a bit too close and flirting a bit too blatantly. At least, their friends seem to think so, because before Will knows what hit him, Percy and Jason have grabbed Nico and he himself is being brutally dragged off by Connor and Cecil.

“Time to cool off…” someone yells.

“Hey, come on… I don’t have any extra clothes or anything…” he complains as Lou Ellen strips him of his phone and shoes.

“Better get undressed then…” someone says, and his trousers are being unzipped and pulled down. “Lucky you didn’t go commando…” Connor comments. He has already lost his sweater sometime ago and they seem to think that’s enough for now because two seconds after he hears Nico’s wild protests, followed by a loud splash, he lands in the water himself, dressed in just boxer briefs, socks and shirt.

People clap and whistle as they both resurface and shake the wet hair out of their faces. He knows he will probably be embarrassed about this later, and he wants to be mad at someone, but when Nico looks at him from under wet strands of hair and laughs he can’t help himself. He starts snickering too, and splashes water at Nico. They mess around for a bit, trying to drag each other under the surface, before they swim towards the shallow end of the pool to climb up. Nico’s has lost his hair band, and his wet bangs are falling all over his face. Will doesn’t think as he reaches out to stroke one of the offending strands away from his cheek and for a moment, their eyes lock. Nico’s warm, brown eyes are full of mirth, and something that might be affection. Will’s heart constricts with emotion for this amazing guy. He doesn’t even think twice before reaching out and pulling Nico closer, and before he knows how it happened, their lips are locked. And it’s not just a chaste peck on the lips either. No, it’s that deep, passionate, filthy sort of kiss that leaves Will’s knees shaking and his heart pounding madly against his ribcage as the world around them disappears for a moment and all of his focus is on Nico. The taste of him, the smell of him, his lean fingers digging into Will’s arms, pulling him even closer. His silky, wet hair and the heat radiating of his body even in the cold water of the pool.

Wild cheers interrupt the moment, and Will suddenly remembers where they are. Oops… Yeah, he’ll never live this one down. So freaking embarrassing, what the hell was he thinking? He blushes furiously as he climbs out of the pool and accepts a towel that’s being handed to him.

“Come on, let’s go find some dry clothes…” Nico says as Will wraps the towel around his waist and picks up his trousers and sweater from the floor.

“Are you sure you’ll need clothes?” someone shouts - probably Percy - and Nico flips him off before dragging Will out of the poolhouse.

Nico leads him down a corridor and through a large kitchen, probably a detour to avoid the ballroom, which Will is very grateful for.

“Ay, Dios Mio… What have you done? You are dripping all over the kitchen…” a middle aged woman with an apron exclaims, catching them as they try to sneak past.

“Sorry Rosa, fell into the pool… Don’t tell dad…” Nico says, smiling apologetically.

“Sorry…” Will echoes.

“Get out of those wet clothes before you catch a cold,” she sighs. “I will make you some hot chocolate, ok?”

“Thanks R, you’re the best,” Nico says and grabs Will’s hand to tow him out of the kitchen and up a set of stairs on the right.

Will just gapes when they enter Nico’s room. If it can even be called a room. It’s more like an open space apartment. There’s a king size bed in an alcove, a couch and a table in front of a media center, a desk and several book cases lined up against the wall, a corner with an armchair surrounded by several guitars, a walk in closet and an ensuite bathroom attached.

“Where’s the kitchen?” Will asks, one eyebrow raised.

Nico rolls his eyes. “Be good or I’ll let you walk out of here naked…” he threatens.

“You plan on getting me naked? A little presumptuous, don’t you think?” Will replies automatically, and blushes when he realizes what he said.

Nico swats him with his towel. “Dream on Solace…” he says cockily, but Will can’t help noticing the matching blush creeping up his neck. He walks into his closet and seems to rummage around for a bit.

“What do you need?” he calls out.

“If you have like a dry t-shirt and a pair of socks, it would be great…” he says. He’s not going to borrow underwear from Nico, that would just be too weird. He can go commando. Hopefully nobody is going to undress him in public again tonight…

When Nico steps out of the closet, dressed in a plain black t-shirt and skinny grey jeans, Will has put his pants back on and stripped out of his shirt. Nico swallows and seems to try not to stare at his bare torso. He hands him a bundle of garments. “This should fit… probably...” he says and turns away.

The t-shirt is a bit snug, but it’s not too bad. It smells of laundry detergent and something spicy that reminds him of Nico. He pulls on his sweater, just as Nico turns back to face him. “So…” he says, hesitating for a second before continuing. “What was that in the pool? Was it just the Prosecco talking, or..?”

Will feels his cheeks heat up. He’s pretty sure Nico was ok with it, but he’s not sure. “Well, I might blame the part where I kissed you in front of all our friends without asking for permission on the alcohol, but I don’t regret doing it, if that's what you mean?” he says with a shy smile.

Nico smiles back, but still looks a bit guarded. “So, what are you saying? Have you forgiven me for being a spoiled brat?”

“I guess you’re not so bad after all...” Will says, taking a step closer. Nico meets his eyes with a determined look and it’s clear that he is not going to get away that easily. He sighs and pulls his still wet hair back from his face before reaching out for Nico’s hand again. It feels warm and comfortable in his.

“Look,” he says. “I guess I was making too big a deal out of this. I mean, it’s still a bit freaky that you live in a mansion and that you’ve got employees making you hot chocolate when you fall in the pool… And that your room is bigger than our apartment. But your family and friends all seem pretty ok. Not at all what I expected…” He meets Nico’s eyes again and laces their fingers together. “And most importantly, you are still you. And I really, really like _you_ , so… if you still want me, we’ll make it work somehow?”

Nico looks at him and shakes his head. “You’re an idiot…” he says, but he smiles fondly and steps into Will’s personal space.

The kiss starts slower and more tender than any of the ones they have shared before. Nico holds him tightly and Will can feel both their hearts beating in tandem. He tangles his hands in Nico’s still moist hair and deepens the kiss, driven by that insatiable feeling of want pooling in his lower belly. It’s almost unbearable. Especially when Nico suddenly pulls away, panting slightly.

“Fuck… As much as I want to take you up on the idea of getting you naked, It will have to wait… They are bound to send out a search party any minute now.”

Will pouts slightly, and Nico’s face splits into a predatory smile, full of promises. “Later, sunshine…” he whispers in Will’s ear, sending shivers down his spine and right into his groin.

Just as Will is about to throw all sense out the window and wrestle Nico down onto the bed, the door flies open, just as Nico predicted. But it’s not a search party, exactly. It’s Nico’s furious ex-boyfriend.

Well, shit.

“Are you seriously going to bail out of your own party to fuck your new boy toy right in front of my eyes, Nico? You’re unbelievable…” the ex growls, eyes flashing dangerously in Will’s direction.

Nico sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “Tyler, for fuck’s sake… First of all, we were only changing clothes since we got a bit wet, if you didn’t notice… and we wouldn’t be doing anything at all in front of your eyes if you hadn’t stalked us…”

“But you’re not denying it? That he’s your boyfriend? You fucking lied to me Nico…” Tyler screams.

The look Nico gives his ex is more full of pity than anger. “I did not lie. I told you I had met someone I liked, and at that point it was true that we weren’t together. But things change Ty, I’m sorry, but that’s the truth. We’ve been broken up for over six months and I told you I just wanted to be friends when we met at New Year’s. I don’t know what you expected when you showed up here for the party, but I didn’t promise you anything…”

“I expected you to have come to your senses Nico, for fuck’s sake. You can’t be serious about dating _him_ , can you?” Tyler says, rudely pointing his hand in Will’s direction.

“Tyler, I’m warning you…” Nico says, lips tight and hands clenched into fists at his sides.

“Against what? Against asking you what the hell he has to offer that I don’t? Or against telling you the truth? That you’ll never know if he’s just using you...?”

It’s kind of funny, in a way, because this was exactly the scenario Will had feared. That people would wonder what the hell Nico sees in him, and worry that he’s trying to get to his money. But now, when that stuck up jerk that is Nico’s ex speaks up, it just sounds ridiculous. Like, yeah. The guy might be loaded, and have a famous mother. But Nico doesn’t need that; he’s got his own money and connections. And sure, Mr Ex is hot, but he’s got a personality that screams _punch me_. Right now, Will wonders what the hell Nico ever saw in that guy. Was Will seriously worried about that jerkface?

Nico doesn’t seem to think it is the least bit funny. He shoots Will a worried glance before turning back to his ex. He takes two deep breaths, like he’s trying very hard to keep his temper in check. “Tyler…” he says in a slow and steady voice. “Get. Out. Of. My. House…. Now!”

He looks so dangerous when he takes two steps forward that Tyler backs off out into the corridor. Nico slams the door shut behind him with emphasis. He takes a couple of breaths with his eyes closed before he says “Fuck…” to nobody in particular, and turns to Will with something wild and pleading flashing in his eyes.

“I am so sorry about him. I can’t believe he just said those things. Please, Will… You can’t think that’s the general opinion, ok? He’s just being a jealous idiot, don’t worry about it, _please_.”

It’s kind of cute, the way Nico is practically begging. Will knows it’s mean, but he can’t help messing with him just a tiny bit.

“I am wondering though…” he says with a smirk, but Nico doesn’t seem to notice the humor in his voice. He hides his face in his palms and groans. “Well, if that’s your ex, you obviously have a horrible taste in guys, so I’m a bit worried about what that says about me, really…” Will continues quickly before Nico loses it completely.

Nico looks up in surprise, but relaxes when he sees Will’s smiling face and screws up his face into a grimace. “Bastard…” he groans and bumps Will’s shoulder. “You almost gave me a panic attack…” he says, but his lips are twitching.

Will pulls him in for another kiss, just because he can. He hopes that the stupid ex is looking through the keyhole… Just in case, he feels Nico up a bit for good measure, snaking his hands in under his shirt.

When they get back to the party, their friends are having way too much fun coming up with wild guesses concerning where they have been and why it took so long for them to change clothes. As expected, really, and Will can’t find it in himself to be bothered. Not when Nico stays by his side like glue the rest of the evening and takes every opportunity to sneak away and make out - a pastime that is quickly becoming Will’s favorite hobby.

When the clock strikes midnight and Nico’s actual birthday begins, people are singing and cheering. Will, surprising himself and everyone of his friends, somehow manages to work up the courage to kiss Nico in front of everyone at the party, including his family. In a way, it just feels like the natural thing to do, kissing his boyfriend.

“Happy birthday, boyfriend,” Will whispers in his ear, completely ignoring all efforts not to be mushy and lovesick. He almost expects Nico to make a snarky remark about it, but he doesn’t,

Instead, Nico just gives him a smile that turns his insides to goo and pulls him in for another kiss. “Best birthday present ever…” he whispers back in Will’s ear when they break apart.

Will smiles. “Damn, how am I going to be able to top that next year?”

Nico looks at him, eyes full of mirth and lips shaped into a cocky half smile. “Well, you could always give it to me again. But maybe with less clothes..?”

Will watches as his very sexy boyfriend is dragged away from him and pulled into hugs by various friends. His heart swells with emotion, and a bit with anticipation. Another part of his body obviously agrees with that little idea of Nico’s and he has to adjust himself discreetly in his pants as he contemplates that he might not be able to wait another year for that wish to come true, come to think of it. But, well, there’s always Christmas, right? Only, that’s almost as far away. Easter? St Patrick’s day? 4th of July? Beltaine? Graduation? National freaking cupcake day? Whichever comes first… It doesn’t really matter; he is planning on spending every single one of them with Nico anyway. And then some.

\----THE END---

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading and commenting on this story! I mean, all the love... it's amazing!! I won't get sentimental on you just yet though, because there's an epilogue to come too... Let me know here or on tumblr if there's something you'd like to see happening (it's going to take place one year later)
> 
> I'm on tumblr @thesunshineandrainbowsblog (thesunshineandrainbowsblog.tumblr.com)
> 
> Also, last but not least, a huge THANK YOU!!!! to @annawolfart, also on tumblr, for the illustration for this chapter!!   
> (annawolfart.tumblr.com)


	28. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I am so, so sorry that I just disappeared on you guys and let you all hang on the last chapter! Well, at least it was the last, and only the epilogue missing, but still. To tell you the truth, I had so much I wanted to squeeze into this last chapter, and I got a total writers block. And also, life happened, you know, as it sometimes does... But now I realized I had to do something about it before going on vacation, or it will probably never get finished. Unfortunately, I only managed to gather up a fraction of all the loose ends I had wanted to tie into this, but at least it's done. Even if Will didn't settle for good enough, I might have to.... Perhaps I'll do a sequel some day, or some short story to go with this universe, because I have like a million ideas in my head. 
> 
> Here it is anyway, the last part (for now). Enjoy and stay safe everyone!

It’s dark in the bedroom when Nico wakes up. Too dark and way too fucking cold. Something is missing, he realizes, as he drifts in and out of sleep, reaching out to search for another warm body but finding only empty space and a stray pillow. Before Will, Nico had never been much of a cuddler, but somehow it’s like Will was made specifically to serve as a pillow for Nico. A somewhat hard but very sexy pillow, mind. It’s perhaps the way his boyfriend always sleeps flat on his back, like the dead, whereas Nico prefers to sleep on his side, one leg thrown across Will’s thighs and sometimes his head resting on that glorious, sculpted chest. Or it might be the fact that Will is always so warm, and smells so good, or perhaps it’s just another way their bodies always fit together perfectly. Anyway, he usually at least registers if Will, being an obnoxious morning person, sneaks out of bed to go for a jog before Nico wakes up, even if he feigns sleep to avoid being roped into joining him. No mistake, Nico loves running, and he loves to do everything he possibly can with Will. Just not at, like, 7 am on a Sunday. 

Today, Will has somehow managed to untangle himself from Nico and sneak out of bed without him noticing though. Nico groans and buries himself under the covers.  _ What is the point of waking up early if Will isn’t even back from his run yet?  _ he briefly wonders, before his sleepy brain starts taking in the sounds and smells and realizing that they aren’t in Will’s dorm room at all, but in his room back in Olympus Cove. 

Oh, right… it’s his birthday.

He barely has time to finish the thought before he hears the door to his room creak open, accompanied by a promising rustle of fabric dropping to the floor. Nico smiles to himself as he waits for Will to climb back into bed, but when nothing happens he is forced to peek out from under his blankets and see why. And dear, sweet lord what a sight it is.

“Happy Birthday, love…” Will says, flashing him a sly smile and a wink. His boyfriend is standing there in all his glory, butt naked except for a large, red ribbon tied around his very proud erection, and a breakfast tray in his hands. He looks an odd mix of completely ridiculous and totally hot.

“I sure hope you didn’t make breakfast dressed like that, or Rosa would have a heart attack if she saw you…” Nico says, going for flirty banter but if his voice is cracking slightly and coming out more breathless than cocky and his mouth is going a bit dry at the sight, he really can’t be blamed. Will knows just too well the effect he has on Nico anyway, no need to keep up pretense and playing hard to get.

Will grins and wiggles his eyebrows. “Well, you said last year that you wished for me with less clothes for your birthday, and you said yesterday you wanted breakfast in bed. I’m just trying to be efficient and live up to all of your expectations…” 

Nico lets out a little snort but his libido totally outmaneuvers his wish to tease his boyfriend. “I’ll show you efficient… Put that down and come here,” he says, voice husky and low. He’s not even the slightest bit embarrassed about the way the blanket is tenting somewhere around his middle. 

“What? You’re turning down coffee now?” Will teases.

“Presents first, coffee later, ahh mmm” Nico says, interrupting himself with a moan as Will straddles him, creating glorious friction through the much too thick fabric of the duvet. He shudders with pleasure, lust swimming through his brain as he tries to decide what he wants to do first, but Will seems to have plans already and quickly takes the lead, leaving Nico no other option than to lay back and enjoy the ride.

Perhaps it’s the birthday thing, and the fact that it’s their anniversary too, but Nico can’t help reflecting about how far they have come in one year. He remembers way back then, when Will basically was a blushing virgin, and Nico had to take the lead through all their firsts and show how it’s done. Not that there was anything wrong with his boyfriend’s enthusiasm; at least not after a while when they had gotten to know each other better. Will has started to suspect that he might be demisexual after all, or perhaps just nicosexual, as he prefers to call it (making Nico groan with embarrassment and general exasperation at Will’s dorkiness). Anyway, a while back, he assured Nico he had still never really felt attracted to anyone else after Nico had one of his lack-of-confidence-episodes and started obsessing about the fact that Will never had slept with anyone else. He was suddenly sure Will would leave him sooner or later to experiment, but Will just shook his head in disbelief and said  _ I’ll show you experimenting…  _ before he set out to do just that, taking their intimate relationship to a whole new level once again. (It was after that episode that they started turning just about anything into an innuendo by adding  _ I’ll show you…  _ in front of it. Now, Nico reacts more or less like a pavlovian dog, his cock leaping into attention in a millisecond as soon as Will starts a sentence with those words.)

“Hey, you’re not getting dressed now, are you?” Nico asks afterwards, when Will climbs out of bed and reaches for his sweats. “I’m not done playing with my present…” he adds with a pout.

Will just grins at him. “You are for now, they are all waiting for us downstairs so they can surprise you with cake…” 

Nico sighs and flops back on the bed. “Why did we agree to spend the night here again?” 

“Because we don’t want your family to hate me for stealing you away on your birthday and ruining their chances of throwing you another surprise party…” Will grins.

“Please, they already like you better than me…” Nico complains. “Besides, it’s my birthday and I want to spend it with my naked boyfriend…” 

Will just shrugs and gives him a smug grin. “I could tie the ribbon back on and wear it under my clothes and we can see how many times we can sneak away and have you unwrap the gift before the night is over?” he suggests, flashing Nico a saucy grin. Nico can’t help laughing at his ridiculous boyfriend. Yep, he sure isn’t a blushing virgin anymore… 

.oOo.

To nobody’s surprise, Nico and Will are late down for breakfast. Very late. Will tries to look innocent as they finally make it downstairs, giving Nico’s family members an apologetic smile and shrugging slightly as if to say, “hey, what can you do, it’s his birthday?” He receives more than one knowing smirk and obvious eye roll though, but he knows better than to try to explain himself. It was, after all, his responsibility to get the birthday boy out of bed. He did so on time, in fact. It was just that they sort of got stuck in the shower for a bit and he doesn’t particularly want to explain the details about how that happened to his boyfriend’s father. Or, well, Hades probably just would find it funny. Nico is right, his hopefully-father-in-law-to-be does adore him, after all. Also, if there’s one thing Will has learned this past year it is that Persephone is the dangerous one. She might pretend not to care, and she might be hard on Nico and Hazel sometimes, but she would probably hang anyone who would even threaten to hurt one of them by the balls and leave them for the hyenas to find while sipping cocktails and watching from a safe distance. 

Not that Will would ever even think about hurting Nico. After all, the only problem he has ever had with their relationship - at least since he pulled his head out of his ass and got together with Nico - is that it sometimes scares him how much he loves the beautiful man sitting beside him at the large mahogany table in the kitchen. 

Looking back, he probably fell in love with Nico more or less that first day. He can’t believe he fought it so stubbornly - both the falling in love part and his sexuality. It seems so obvious now, in hindsight. Inevitable, somehow. He had thought he wanted normal, secure and predictable and he had most of his life planned out ahead of him, including settling down with some appropriate girl and getting married one day. But then, Nico di Angelo happened, and honestly, Will wouldn’t have it any other way. 

He has realized life can be so much more than good enough. It can be an explosion of untamed passion and beauty, like a wild rose bush in bloom. Sure, there are thorns on those bushes, which means you struggle with them sometimes, and you may get the occasional sting. And they may only bloom for a short while, but the thing is that if you nurture them, they bloom again and again, and they are quite nice to look at even in between. Will knows it’s probably not that common to spend the rest of your life with your high school sweetheart, but he really does hope they will be the exception. Nico is  _ it _ for him anyway, he’s pretty sure about that. But even if that wouldn’t be the case, he knows he will never settle for less than extraordinary again. 

He tells Nico as much as they sneak away from the party to celebrate their anniversary privately for a while later that night. Or, well, he tells Nico about how he has changed Will’s life from being ordinary to extraordinary. Not the cheesy bit about the rose bushes, because if he said that Nico would laugh at him and that would probably kill the mood. Although you never know; his boyfriend can be quite the romantic sometimes, although he probably wouldn’t admit it under torture. 

He probably made the right call as Nico blushes and calls him a dork even from that statement, but Will still thinks it went over pretty well as they don’t even make it to Nico’s room before his boyfriend pulls a door open and drags him into what he probably assumed was an empty guest room. Only, it’s not that empty. Two people are making out rather heavily on the couch, moaning loudly and showing way more skin than Will ever wanted to see from…

“Kevin!?” he bursts out in surprise at the same time as Nico exclaims “Tyler!”

They look away from the embarrassed couple and they both start laughing hysterically as their eyes meet, and they tumble out of the room and shut the door behind them, making excuses as they go. 

“Dear, sweet Lord, that’s a match made in heaven alright…” Nico says, still snickering as they make a pause to lean against the wall of the corridor. 

“You think?” Will asks, suddenly feeling a bit worried. He’s relieved Tyler seems to finally have moved on, and he knows Nico will be happy about that too. Things were really frosty between Tyler and Nico for a while, but Will could see that Nico was hurting and missing his ex as a friend, and he was the one to actually encourage the two of them to make up and try to rebuild their friendship. But he knows Tyler can be a bit full of himself sometimes, and Will wonders if Kevin will end up hurt. The guy may be annoying, but he’s really a sweetheart deep down and doesn’t deserve to be used.

Nico just shrugs and grins. “Oh, come on. Kevin loves to play flirty and adoring and Tyler loves the attention enough to even put up with his bad pick-up lines. They are perfect for each other, really.” He takes a step into Will’s personal space and pushes him up against the wall. “Now, if I remember correctly, you are hiding my present in your pants, ready to be unwrapped…”

Will rolls his eyes. “Speaking of bad pick-up lines…” he says, but he follows Nico eagerly as he drags him along down the corridor. 

“You are coming with me, so it must have been working…” Nico argues and winks at him over his shoulder. “Or are you just that easy?” 

Will flashes his boyfriends one of his certified charming smiles and he can't even find the energy to bite back as all the emotions he feels for this man threatens to overwhelm him. “For you? Always!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last, but not least, thank you so very, very much to all of you who have left kudos and comments on this and supported me with ideas and cheers along the way! It has been much appreciated and I probably wouldn't have put as much effort into it if it hadn't been for you guys!! <3<3<3
> 
> Now, I'm feeling a bit drained, but I have got another project going. It's actually another high school/College AU, but a completely different story taking place in the demigod world, and centered just as much around a couple of OC:s I made up. It's about half-written, but I have sort of written myself into a corner and I don't know how to tie it all together. Perhaps I'll find the inspiration this summer when I have more time, who knows? I also haven't written much centered around OC:s in this universe, so I feel a bit insecure about it. Perhaps I'll post a teaser on Tumblr, or here, and see if people think it's worth finishing? I don't know...


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